April 15 – Also an Infamous Date?

by Greg H

I’ve always  found it interesting that April 15, a menacing date to those of us who pay taxes (and, therefore, just another day to those “people”  who just happen to be corporations), is also the date of at least two other calamities of great significance.  President Abraham Lincoln died of his gunshot wound and the Titanic sank, both in the morning hours of April 15.  Both mortal events occurred, however,  on the evening of April 14 so perhaps the wrong date is getting the rap here.

Well, I checked the internet for other historical events that happened on April 14 and, while I found several disasters of a smaller magnitude, I could not find anything else so engaging that James Cameron would want to make a movie about it. In fact, the historical event that most intrigued me was that in 1191 Giacinto Bobo became Pope Coelestinus III.  I was first amazed that anyone known by the name Bobo who, as Pope, could then choose pretty much any other name for himself, would choose Coelestinus, which, face it, sounds like an intestinal bacteria. Then I realized that two other guys before him had made the exact  same choice!  Maybe in the 12th Century Coelestinus was as popular a boy’s name as Jacob and Ethan are today.  And I think Pope Bobo would have been kind of endearing.

Still,  let’s give April 14 some credit for its bad mojo.  The uncertainty and anxiety that one feels after waiting this long to file a tax return must reach its peak by late in the day of  April 14th.  Those poor souls on the Titanic certainly understood that sinking feeling. And they couldn’t file for an extension.

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National Library Workers’ Day

by David T

In conjunction with National Library Week, Tuesday, April 10 has been designated National Library Workers’ Day (NLWD) to honor the contributions of librarians, support staff, volunteers and others who make library services possible.

Library workers are responsible for a wide variety of services that patrons have come to expect from their libraries. They are in charge of more than just checking books in and out. Library workers catalog and shelve materials; retrieve requested items and send them to other libraries; answer phone calls and emails; organize programs and events; administer computer networks; update the library’s website; select and obtain books, CDs, DVDs, and databases; and much more.

Event organizers have invited library users to mark the occasion by “submitting a star” — telling everyone what makes a library employee special by submitting a favorite worker’s name and why he or she is wonderful. You’re encouraged to submit a star to the NLWD website, but feel free to make a comment here as well. We know there are many “stars” here in our own DCPL constellation—who’s yours?

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Ursula K. Le Guin on the death of the book

by Jesse M

For today’s post I’m going to share an essay written by award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin regarding the much discussed concept of the death of the book.

In this entertaining and insightful piece, Le Guin makes the distinction between the medium (the printed book or e-text) and the act of reading itself, and argues that despite the prevailing notion that technology is responsible for the death of the book, this isn’t actually the case; rather, technology has allowed the book to grow into a second form and shape, the eBook, and both forms will be useful to humanity in the years ahead.

Follow this link to read the essay, and if you’re interested in checking out any of Le Guin’s published work, DCPL has dozens of titles available in our catalog.

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Gardening for squares

by Dea Anne M

I’ve posted here before about gardening and particularly food gardening for small or unusual spaces.  You might have decided by now that I’m a little fanatical on the subject and all I can say to that is…you might be right. This year, we’ve expanded our gardening ambitions around my place a bit and have put in some raised beds at the side of the house and in the back yard. The strawberry pyramid measures 6ft. X 6ft.at the base, 4ft. X 4ft. in the middle, and 2 ft. X 2 ft. at the top.  The rectangular beds measure 4 ft. X 8 ft. I have great hopes for this project and I’ve already planted potatoes, peas, radishes, beets, carrots, lettuce, spinach, chard, and tomatoes. Strawberries are coming out now, and we’ll soon be putting in tomatillos, eggplant, beans, melons, and corn (notoriously difficult to grow so we’ll see). Here’s a picture…

You might notice the grid pattern laid across two of the beds. Allow me to explain. We’ve taken our planting  inspiration from Mel Bartholomew’s All-New Square Foot Gardening. The idea is that you measure your raised bed out into square feet and plant a specific number of vegetables in  each. There’s much more to it than that, but suffice it to say that  Bartholomew’s technique promises to produce healthy, densely planted beds that are easier to tend than the traditional row garden set-up. He provides clear instructions on plant spacing as well as various tips on vertical gardening. More vegetables and fruit in less space…who doesn’t love that? I highly recommend this book, even to those who are new to vegetable gardening. It’s well-illustrated and very user friendly.

Are you interested in small space gardening? Be sure to check out these titles as well:  Lasagna Gardening for Small Spaces by Patricia Lanza,  The Edible Container Garden by Michael Guerra, and The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible by Edward C. Smith.

Finally, let me brag a little and show you my beloved Top Hat blueberry bush. I’ve had it in a pot on my deck for 4 years now and it’s still going strong. It’s a “dwarf” variety but it’s put out an increasingly larger crop each year of deep blue, intensely flavored fruit. Let me tell you, there’s nothing quite like the taste of a muffin filled with berries you’ve grown yourself. Tri it and see!

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Life’s a Beach

by Greg H

I’m fortunate enough to have a sister who lives a ten minute walk from Pass-a-Grille Beach and the Gulf of Mexico but, on all too many visits, I never see the sand or the Gulf waters or the sun setting into them.  On my most recent visit, however, I not only made it to the beach; I also gained an appreciation for how much that setting sun means to people.

I’d just finished dinner at a local seafood restaurant and, stepping outside,  noticed that the sun was getting pretty low in the sky. The beach was just two blocks away so I strolled over and took a seat on a bench that faced the water.  There were people scattered on the beach in every direction. Some were walking at the water’s edge or jogging.  One young couple was playing a one on one game of wiffle ball.  Most, it seemed, were simply standing in the sand, looking out to the horizon and the reddening sun.

The sun’s motion in the sky is difficult to discern during most of the day (and who would stare at the glare of a midday sun anyway?)  At sunset, however, the sun’s movement can be observed quite easily in the diminishing distance between the sun’s lower edge and the line of the horizon.  The scene almost calls for a countdown that concludes with the hiss of the sun dipping into the waves.  So, while I wasn’t especially surprised by the  number of people waiting in the sand, I was a  bit surprised by what happened next.  As the last of the sun slipped into the gulf people all along the beach started to applaud.  Maybe this display was in part due to the number of spring breakers who were in town to see this exact type of event but I still enjoyed the appreciation behind the ovation.

The next evening I got to enjoy a slightly more scientific sun-related phenomena. If conditions are favorable the last second or two of a sunset may feature a green or blue flash of light.  Extremely shoddy research on my part revealed no fewer than four possible causes for this light anomaly and one or two were detailed enough to nearly cause my science anxiety to kick in.  Let’s just say that very clear skies are a plus.

We were eating dinner on a restaurant’s second story balcony when Norm,  my brother-in-law, reminded us of the sunset and the flash that we should be looking for.  I’d tried to see the colorful flash before without success but I was still interested.  The sun fell lower and lower and, when it finally slid fully away, there it was.  I clearly saw what reminded me of a Pentecost-like tongue of flame on top of the sun.  The vision lasted about 1.5 seconds. I don’t recall if there were any applause that evening but,  having finally seen the elusive flash of light, I was more than satisfied.

So there’s my late resolution for the new year.  Don’t take beaches or large bodies of water for granted.  And keep an eye out for dolphins too. They’re always fun to watch.

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Spring is Here!!

by Amanda L

The official beginning of spring started a few weeks ago and spring break is next week. What better way to celebrate but to spend some time in the great outdoors. I have written before about a variety of outdoor places  to visit and  fishing opportunities around the state. A new opportunity for day excursions and fishing is the new Georgia Go Fish Pass. This pass will allow up to six people free admittance to the Go Fish Education Center in Perry, Georgia. You may be required to show identification. The pass can be checked out from your local branch or reserved if all of the passes are in use. The pass is checked out for one week. NOTE: The center is only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Looking for hiking opportunities around Atlanta? Of course there are the state parks around the state. Don’t forget that  you may reserve a Georgia Park pass just like you would any other material. You may check it out for seven days. The Georgia Department of Natural Resource’s website lists all of the participating parks and historic sites. Georgia Parks that are located on National Forest land are not included in this park pass.

Closer to home in DeKalb County, the Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve is another opportunity which is free. The local ranger provides interpretive hikes for free for individuals.  For more information, check out their calendar of events.

And when you’re not out in nature, why not come to some of the Library’s spring break programs? We have games, crafts, movies and more for the whole family.

The Library offers several hiking books for the Atlanta area:

• Afoot & afield in Atlanta: a comprehensive hiking guide by Marcus Woolf
• Favorite wildflower walks in Georgia by Hugh and Carol Nourse
• 60 Hikes within 60 miles: Atlanta, including Marietta, Lawrenceville, and Peachtree City by Randy & Pam Goldman
• Best Hikes near Atlanta by Ren & Helen Davis

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How Much is a Dragon Worth?

by Jesse M

Beginning in 2002, and intermittently since, Forbes magazine has compiled a list of the 15 most wealthy fictional characters. The candidates are taken from a variety of media, including books, television, and film. The makeup of the list changes from year to year as fortunes rise and fall, and one of the most intriguing new additions to the list in 2011 was Smaug. Smaug is a dragon, and fan’s of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic children’s fantasy novel The Hobbit will be familiar with him as one of the main antagonists in the story. Smaug is described at one point in the book as “unassessably wealthy”, with gold “beyond price and count”, claims that the authors of the Forbes fictional 15 list seem to have taken as a challenge. Forbes writer Michael Noer details his process for assigning a numerical value to Smaug’s fortune in this fun and informative article, which includes calculations of the volume of Smaug’s treasure mound and an enumeration of the diamonds encrusted in his underbelly.

Other notable literary characters appearing on last year’s list include Artemis Fowl (the eponymous protagonist of the Artemis Fowl series) and Carlisle Cullen (a character appearing in the Twilight series).

Want to see how the Forbes fictional 15 stack up against real world billionaires? This article breaks down the differences; to summarize, the real-world rich are considerably more wealthy than their fictional counterparts.

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May I offer you a good book?

by Patricia D

Helping someone find a book to read is a pretty easy task when all the reader is looking for is popular stuff.  It’s not tough to track down Harry Potter, Jack and Annie, Geronimo Stilton, Arthur and Captain Underpants.  You find the book, hand it over and hope they enjoy it.  It’s when all those books have been read and the reader wants, even needs, something else to read that the art of helping choose something else suited to their tastes comes into play.   In library lingo it’s called Reader’s Advisory, and it is still the best part of my job.

Once past the popular book stage I like to focus on titles that aren’t obvious choices but are wonderful anyway.   Maybe the cover is ugly, or  Mom or Dad had never heard of the author, or it’s just old fashioned. Some of my personal favorites for this are The Cricket in Times Square,  Jennifer Murdley’s Toad (absolute best first line in children’s literature, I kid you not),  Bud, not Buddy and The Book of Three.  They are slim, easy to read and don’t look at all intimidating.  If they’re a little banged up, well . . .a lot can be forgiven an ugly book with a good story between its covers.

A little more old fashioned, and a little harder to sell are books like  Calico Captive, The Great Brain, Dominic and The Twilight of Magic, among others.  I’ve had lots of children who needed convincing come back and ask for something else like one of these.

Then, there are the books that win awards but that don’t just leap off the shelves and into a reader’s hand screaming “I’m fabulous!”  These books take more patience and concentration, a rare commodity in our non-linear reading, Googlized world.  The authors are artists.  Their works are so finely crafted that to remove even one phrase would bring down the entire work.  They not only tell a good story, they immerse the reader in a world of gorgeous language, flawless characterization and precision plotting.  They create entire paragraphs that make an English major dizzy with admiration and jealousy but will  just be a really good story for a younger reader.  If the reader loves that book and wants more, I’ve got myself a base hit.  If that reader pauses to savor a sentence or two, or re-reads the book directly after finishing, then I can count that as a grand slam.  When I’m looking to hook a reader on great literature as well as a great story I pull out:  Natalie Babbitt, E.L. Konigsburg, David Almond and Kim Siegelson.

Tuck Everlasting fans will be delighted there’s a new Babbitt book out,  but an older reader will feel as if they are solidly in western Ohio while reading Herbert Rowbarge.  Skellig, by David Almond will have you looking at birds, and miracles, in a whole new way, and I promise that after reading Honey Bea by Decatur’s own Kim Siegelson, you will want nothing more than to eat honey.  Finally, read everything by Ms. Konigsburg.  She’s dazzling no matter what she’s writing about, but I have a special love for A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver and the Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place.

You know what?  Read everything by each of these folks.  The reading won’t always be an easy journey, but it will always be well worth the effort.

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Feeding your hunger

by Dea Anne M

Regular readers of this blog probably already know that my posts often involve food and you might assume from the title of this post that this one is more of the same. Well…surprise—it’s not! By “hunger” I’m referring to this coming weekend’s release of the eagerly awaited film version of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. The book is, of course, the first in Collins’ wonderful dystopian trilogy (which includes Catching Fire and Mockingjay) in which ruling powers demand a yearly “tribute”—a girl and a boy selected by lottery from each of twelve districts. The twenty-four tributes are expected to fight each other to the death in a televised (required viewing, no less) gladiatorial-style contest until only one is left standing. The trilogy’s primary character is Katniss Everdeen – a brave and emotionally complicated young woman who is sometimes infuriating but always (in my opinion) remarkable. I’ve heard some equate the success of the Hunger Games series with that of Stephanie Meyers’  Twilight books. Both series have been hugely popular but they are, I think, really nothing alike. Certainly there’s a strong romantic sub-plot in the books but it definitely takes a back seat to the rest of the action. Needless to say, I’m eager to see the film which features Jennifer  Lawrence (as Katniss), Woody Harrelson, and  Stanley Tucci among many others.

To celebrate the release of the film, the Stonecrest branch of DCPL will be hosting a Hunger Games Release Party on Saturday, March 24 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The party will feature “training stations” where teens can test their skills in archery, plant identification, and trivia; crafts; refreshments; and a prize drawing. Remember, attendance is limited to the first 25 teens so do keep that in mind if you plan to celebrate with us at Stonecrest. The Decatur branch will also be celebrating the film release with a Hunger Games Trivia event featuring  pizza and prizes this Thursday, March 22, from 4:30-5:30. The event will be held in the Decatur Meeting Room and attendance is limited to the first 25 participants.

Are you going to celebrate the release of the Hunger Games film and, if so, how?

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The Books You’ve Always Meant To Read

by Joseph M

I was browsing through recent entries of a librarian blog I like when I came across a cool Depression-era poster created the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency which provided employment on public works projects for millions of Americans from 1935-1943.  According to the folks at Brainpickings.org who originally blogged on this topic, this is just one of many great posters produced by the WPA promoting various literacy projects of the time.

Seeing as we’re in the middle of March, I found this poster particularly suitable for today’s blog, and it got me to thinking about the many books I’ve been meaning to read for years but have never managed to get around to.  Running the gamut from “classics” of literature to more modern books that friends have recommended, my list of books to be read is quite long, and constantly growing.  I may not be able to fit too much in before April, but I’m looking forward to the challenge!

What books have you always meant to read?  Think you’ll find the time this month?

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