Krauss' "History of Love" is One Worth Repeating

Categories Staff Picks , Fiction

The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss, was one of those rare novels that captured me on page one then held me hostage from other activities—namely eating and sleeping—until I reached the final page.  And once I was released, all I wanted to do was find someone else who'd read it and shared my experience.

History is about many things—aging and loss, love and friendship, memories—but it is also a book about a book with the same title.  The mystery of this book within a book propels the action towards a breathless conclusion.  I often found myself flipping through pages I'd already read in order to confirm my suspicions.  And I restrained myself from flipping ahead in the book or even reading the summary on the back of the book to avoid becoming spoiled.

Famous Relatives (Stalin) -- Maybe

Categories Rediscoveries , Nonfiction

I don't mean to brag, but one of my uncles might have invented chocolate syrup. I think I heard a family member mention this once. Amino acids are involved.  Uncle Jim is in his 80s, so when I see him this summer, I'll have to discuss this with him.  I don't know though if I can spin a whole book out of my memories of Uncle Jim, especially if it turns out he actually didn't invent chocolate syrup. 

In the stacks I found My Uncle Joseph Stalin, by Budu Svanidze. Here was someone who didn't have to read up on amino acids, the "building blocks of protein," to make an interesting famous-relative-exploitation book!   Budu was a loyal communist, but he fell in love with a Hungarian woman who refused to live behind the Iron Curtain, so they snuck out to Paris and perhaps also South America under assumed names.  The idea is that Budu wrote this and several other memoirs because he needed the money--and he was successful, as his several volumes of memoirs were translated into English and other languages.  He even sold an article on Joseph Stalin's three wives to McCalls.

Garnethill

Categories Award Winners , Mystery & Suspense , Rediscoveries , Staff Picks , Fiction

How about a little suspense?

I’m looking back at a whole stash of good, nailbiting suspense novels and nice, twisty mysteries that I’ve read in the past few years, and I think my next several posts are going to be about those genres. 

Maybe it’s the hot sunshine we’ve been having lately that has put me in a noir mood—I once read a definition that said a true noir movie had to have a shot somewhere in it of broken light slanting in through venetian blinds. 

I don’t think my first title quite fits that definition, since it takes place in Glasgow.  But it sure fills the bill for gripping suspense.

It’s Denise Mina’s award-winning 1999 debut, Garnethill.

Sound Track for the Road Trip

Categories Entertainment , Local Interest , Staff Picks

Whenever my son Charlie takes a road trip, he organizes a sound track. I had the pleasure of experiencing one of these sound tracks with him recently on a trip back from Nashville. I have a new appreciation for indie rock and some new favorite music.

Bright Eyes with Conor Oberst is a wonderful band from Omaha. 2007's Cassadaga has great music and wins for Best Album Cover (a nifty little tool reveals words and pictures all over it). 

Arcade Fire's Neon Bible was overall the best one. Charlie saw this Canadian band in concert in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and said it was sublime.

Dragonforce...and now for something completely different! This is speed metal from England, hearkening back to the 80's but with 2000's sophistication. I loved it. Described as a "power metal band", I think their concerts should be at Stonehenge, or in front of dramatically lit castles with laser light shows.

Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory

Categories Local Interest , Outdoors & Nature , Children's Books , Arts & Crafts

The Butterfly Show has taken flight at the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park through June 24th! 

When I think of butterflies, I always think of the butterfly alphabet by nature photographer Kjell Sandved, whose amazing butterfly photographs can be seen in A World of Butterflies and the children’s book The Butterfly Alphabet.

Originally from Norway, Sandved came to the United States in 1960 to research a wildlife encyclopedia that he was working on.  The Smithsonian Institution invited him to view the museum’s collections, and that’s when he peered into a cigar box of butterfly and moth specimens and first saw a letter ‘F’ on one of the wing patterns.  He taught himself how to take photographs, and a quest for an entire alphabet had begun. 

Belly Laughs

Categories Staff Picks , Parenting & Families , Nonfiction , Fiction

Good things about being pregnant:  Cute clothes (for you and the baby).  Ultrasound pictures.  Feeling the baby kick.  People letting you go first in the bathroom line because they're afraid you might go into labor.  Bad things about being pregnant:  Nausea.  Exhaustion.  People who insist you're having twins because "nobody could be that big and not be having twins" (thanks, that makes me feel tons better).  Not being able to shave your legs because you lost sight of them months ago.  Complete strangers asking if they can rub your belly for good luck (answer:  what do I look like, an oversized rabbit's foot?).

If all this sounds familiar to you (or you're just dying to know how you, too, can skip to the front of the restroom line), then read Jenny McCarthy's very funny and very frank Belly Laughs:  The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth.  It's an informative and often sidesplitting look at the wacky, weird, wonderful world of pregnancy.

The Singing Season

Categories In the News , Entertainment , Award Winners , Local Interest

Cincinnati has a wonderful tradition of welcoming spring and summer with magnificent singing – first the May Festival, held during two May weekends, then the opera season with four productions in June and July.

This tradition has a very long history! The May Festival, established in 1873, is the oldest continuous choral festival in the Western hemisphere. Music Hall was built to house it. Cincinnati Opera, founded in 1920, is the second-oldest opera company in the United States.

The Library will join the celebration this year by unveiling treasures from the Cincinnati Opera Archives, which were entrusted to the Art & Music Department last year. The exhibit Highlights from the Cincinnati Opera Archives, on view in the department from June 13 through September 2, will showcase photographs of the many legendary stars who performed with the company, along with historic programs, posters, scrapbooks, and other documents.