thursday april 17
My seven-week-old daughter and I went to Spring Grove Cemetery today. Unfortunately for her, she slept through her entire first visit and missed the beautiful spring scenery: pink blooms on weeping cherry trees, ducks ambling across tranquil lakes, and monuments to the departed stretching to the sky.
According to Cincinnati Cemeteries: The Queen City Underground by Kevin Grace and Tom White, Spring Grove Cemetery was created in 1845 after several cholera epidemics swept the city. It was designed to resemble a landscaped park that provided dignified burials and a pastoral setting for the bereaved—as it still does today.
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wednesday april 16
Maybe it is those colorful little lines that wind all around, or maybe it is because we don't have a rapid transit system here in Cincinnati. Whatever the reason, I have always been intrigued by maps of subway systems. They look so orderly and functional and efficient, so unlike the reality of transportation above ground.
But, once upon a time, long before I-75 entered our nightmares, a subway system was actually being built in our fair city. Ironically, whenever one travels south on I-75, the remnants of the subway tunnel can easily be seen, below Central Parkway. The work was done during the 1920's, but then the funds ran out, and personal automobiles became more affordable, and America became addicted to oil, and you know the rest. For a history of the project, see The Cincinnati Subway by Allen J. Singer.
For those of us who have traveled on the Metro in Washington DC or the Underground in London, subway systems in other cities hold a certain allure. Other map geeks like myself might want to take a look at Transit Maps of the World by Mark Ovenden, a colorful guide to underground systems from Tokyo to Cairo. For anyone who might be planning a trip, Google Transit is a handy website that offers maps and directions for public transportation throughout the US and abroad.
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monday february 25
The On The Same Page 2008 title selection for Teens - as chosen by a group of eleven very cool teen readers - is Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes. Named a Coretta Scott King Award Winner in 2003, Ms. Grimes’ novel portrays a high school English class as they discover ways to express themselves through 'Open Mic' poetry. For the next several weeks, branch libraries will hold Open Mic sessions for teens; some will be led by the dynamic performance poet Benjamin Hughes.
Participating in this year's program are classes from Northwest High School, LaSalle, St. Teresa in Covedale, Mt. Notre Dame, Aiken HS, and Ursuline Academy, to name a few. Leading in to National Poetry Month in April, teachers can continue to request book collections for use in their classrooms.
Anyone who has a creative streak would have to admire author Nikki Grimes, as she expresses herself via many art forms: writing, fiber arts, music, and jewelry-making. Fans of all ages can meet her at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in the Rookwood Pavilion on Wednesday March 26 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
friday february 22
Turning the Page had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Robert Olmstead, author of Coal Black Horse, Cincinnati’s 2008 On the Same Page novel for adults. We asked Mr. Olmstead some general questions, because we wouldn’t want to include spoilers for those of you who haven’t yet read this gripping tale of a young boy seeking his father across the landscape of the Civil War.
But once you have read Coal Black Horse, be sure to bring your own questions to the book-signing with Mr. Olmstead at the Main Library on Sunday, February 24, or to one of the other events at which he’ll appear. Meanwhile, check out the official Web site for the book.
TTP: Where did you get the inspiration for Coal Black Horse?
RO: In the 1980’s I was living in Pennsylvania not far from Gettysburg. Visiting the battlefield for the first time was a powerful experience. I didn’t know that much about the Civil War, just the usual stuff. So living there, walking that ground, it is my way that I wanted to know as much as I could. And of course everything I learned simply made me all the more curious to learn even more.
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wednesday february 20
It has been more than ten years since the first "One Book/One City" community reading program was launched in Seattle. Since then, hundreds of similar events have been staged; some have lasted and some have not. We like to think that our program here in Cincinnati has "legs", i.e., that it is an event that people around town look forward to each year.
We started out in 2002, reading Ernest Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying, in an attempt to address the aftermath of the city's riots of 2001. Over time, the program has become more of a reading event than a city-wide healing event, although the idea of "encouraging community dialogue" continues as a strong undercurrent. For On The Same Page 2008, the challenge for readers is to experience the Civil War through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy from the mountains of Appalachia, in Robert Olmstead's spellbinding novel, Coal Black Horse.
Olmstead will be in town for several programs, begining with a Civil War History Day on Sunday February 24 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Main Library. Discussion groups and special events will be held during the next six weeks throughout Hamilton County, featuring local Civil War history and concluding with a guided Civil War Tour of Spring Grove Cemetery on April 6.
Each year, there are many ways in which schools, book clubs, and individual readers participate in On The Same Page, making it truly one of the most viable "One Book" programs in the country. Look for upcoming posts about author Robert Olmstead (and about this year's title for teen readers, Bronx Masquerade).
thursday february 07
Winter can be a very long stretch of time for a baseball fan. Dreams of sunny afternoons at the ball park begin to float around with increasing frequency. There is an art exhibit currently installed in the atrium of the Main Library that serves to make those idealistic images even more alluring. For a generation of fans, Willie Mays is the embodiment of grace in the outfield. In oils, watercolors, collage, and pencil drawings, Mays is represented for his artistry and for his love of the game.
Originally gathered in 2006 in honor of Mays' 75th birthday, the collection was first displayed at the Louisville Slugger Museum. Cincinnati author Mike Shannon, editor of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine and creator of the annual Casey Award, was the curator of this art collection; the Library has it on display through March 20. Mr. Shannon will appear at the Main Library on Saturday, March 1 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the Reading Garden to meet the public and to sign books. The accompanying book can be purchased at the Library Friend's Shop, open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
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wednesday january 02
Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, aka the Ghost Hunters from SciFi channel, have written a book about investigating the paranormal. Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society (2007) covers many of the series' investigations, but they are fleshed out with photos, more action, and fascinating behind the scenes information.
Another terrific book of true hauntings is David Domine's Phantoms of Old Louisville: Ghostly Tales from America's Most Haunted Neighborhood (2006). I have met and talked with people whose stories are in the book, and these intelligent down-to-earth people are absolutely convinced of their hauntings. I have no reason to doubt them, and every reason to believe them. David's tireless research and endless patience have resulted in a wonderful collection of stories exemplifying the beautiful old neighborhood.
I would love to see the Ghost Hunters go to Old Louisville, the nation's largest preserved Victorian neighborhood, with 50 square blocks of original restored Victorian houses. It is also reputedly the most haunted neighborhood in the country. Well, no wonder. It's so gorgeous, who wouldn't want to hang around?
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sunday october 28
"So, there's going to be this book festival, with 90 authors and 17 panel discussions, and activites for kids, and books for sale, and it's all free? Really? Where will it be - in Chicago? New York? Maybe Atlanta?" It is for real, and it is happening right here in river city on November 3rd, 2007. There may or may not be a truly viable "Banks Development Project", but the river itself does have banks, hence the name of the festival, Books by the Banks.
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thursday october 11
I received a copy of Emi and the Rhino Scientist by Cincinnati’s Mary Kay Carson a few weeks ago, and can not stop raving. It is fabulous- and just received its first starred review from Kirkus!
Emi and the Rhino Scientist follows Terri Roth, director of the
Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) at the
Cincinnati Zoo, in her worldwide effort to help the endangered Sumatran rhino avoid extinction. The book weaves the story of Emi and her baby Ipuh with information on the habitat and life cycle of this enormous and beautiful creature.
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thursday september 06
Brock Clarke, a Cincinnati writer and all-around good guy, does not promote arson or any other sorts of criminal activity, really. It's just that the hero of his novel inadvertently started a fire at an important historical site, and things quickly went downhill from there. In An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England, Sam Pulsifer is an 'accidental arsonist', a self-professed 'bumbler', and sort of an everyman who seems to be sleepwalking through life. He serves as a lightning rod for the trials and tribulations that commonly befall the modern American male.
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wednesday august 01
The Discovery Channel is in the midst of their annual Shark Week celebration. From July 29th-August 4th, Discovery is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Shark Week. Tonight's episode, "Perfect Predators", airs at 9 pm. The Newport Aquarium is also getting in on the fun with Shark Fest. Receive free giveaways, pet sharks, and see sharks fed daily. For those of you obsessed with shark attacks (and I know you're out there), check out the International Shark Attack File. It might surprise some of you to learn that Florida, not Australia, leads the world in shark attacks. Since 1990, Florida has seen 365 attacks, compared to Australia's 94.
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friday july 27
I need to be vague so a Major Corporation won't slap me with a SLAPP suit, but I used to be a contractor in the library there. The library was right across from the large auditorium, and one day I noticed everyone from the [censored] wing of the building going in, which was not unusual. But this time, it turned out that 300 [censored] were being told they would no longer have jobs with the Corporation in [censored] months, and that a certain kind of research would no longer take place there.
Everyone took the news pretty well except for one guy who must have found out beforehand what was going on and refused to enter the auditorium. He sat in one of the nice chairs by the library yelling things like, "It's a lot cheaper to hire a PR person than to invent a product that will keep someone's [censored] in their [censored] for their whole life!"
That's the man I want to marry, unless he already is married.
One of my points here is that it's a good thing the companies involved with researching sulfa drugs and the even better antibiotics didn't drop out because the research involved was expensive.
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sunday july 01
The Fourth of July is here, so set off some fireworks by cooking a pot of hot, spicy chili!
Authors Michael and Jane Stern have served up a mouth-watering book of chili recipes called Chili Nation. The husband and wife duo, best known for their book Roadfood (and website by the same name), take chili lovers on a coast-to-coast trip from Alabama (Chili a la Whistle Stop) to Wyoming (Code 10 Chili) and every state in between.
The Sterns believe that chili is this country’s one truly shared national food because it can be found on every table and crosses all cultural and ethnic lines. Indeed, the recipes they have selected represent America in all its diversity and local flavors.
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thursday june 14
Some of my happiest times have been spent in the company of chickens. Their unabashed presence can turn a day from gloomy to whimsical.
If you are interested in trying out a little flock of chickens, here are two very enjoyable titles on the subject:
Keeping Pet Chickens (2005) by Johannes Paul tells us how to "bring your backyard to life and enjoy the bounty of fresh eggs from your own small flock of happy hens". Well illustrated, but lighter on the information than the following selection.
Keep Chickens: Tending Small Flocks in Cities, Suburbs, and Other Small Spaces (2003) by Barbara Kilarski is a cleverly written, enthusiastic book of instructions for those interested in fresh eggs and gardening help from a little flock of hens. She understands and explains very well the quirks and personalities of chickens.
Two more excellent resources:
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tuesday may 29
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.
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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.
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friday may 25
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.
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My husband and I are in a mixed marriage: he’s from Cleveland and I’m a native Cincinnatian. Sometimes it’s hard overcoming the differences. He is always touting how great Cleveland is; how it has this and how its wonderful at that. Usually it’s up to me to bite my tongue. We live in Cincinnati: argument won.
One of our disagreements recently was over food. I happened upon a book called Dim Sum: A Pocket Guide and was instantly intrigued. I love Chinese food but I have never had dim sum and I thought this would be the perfect antidote to weekend brunching at a place that is packed with people. I brought it to his attention and he quickly dismissed it. According to him I wouldn’t find a place here that would serve it but in Cleveland…
But I did! And we went, with kids in tow. Unfortunately I forgot the book. The book has only 80 pages but it’s a necessity to explain what is on the menu, what the ingredients are and how it looks. At least to me it is. I’m not an adventurous eater therefore I had to rely on my memory to think of the things I wanted to eat. Some places have carts that roll around and you get to choose your dish that way but the place we went to eat had a non-descriptive menu.
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sunday may 13
Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture by Kerry Pierce is a wonderful new book on the subject. Kenny Pierce is a professional furniture maker and an authority on Shaker woodworking and furniture. This attractive volume is filled with photographs of Shaker dwellings, workshops, tools, artifacts, and, of course, the furniture remarkable for its clean design and simple beauty. The Shakers worked wood as an expression of their devotion to God, and this is certainly evident in the objects they created.
Pierce selected 16 pieces from the Pleasant Hill collection for detailed analysis. A measured drawing of each is provided, with an accompanying discussion of material section, hardware, and construction techniques. So this book has practical value for the home woodworker.
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wednesday may 02
If you haven’t yet seen the Andrew Wyeth exhibition at the Cincinnati Art Museum, make time for a visit during this last week! The collection, loaned by the Marunuma Art Park, consists of 114 watercolors and drawings that lovingly capture the life and seaside Maine home of Christina and Alvaro Olson.
The independent Christina, who had an undiagnosed degenerative disease, refused all help but that of Alvaro, her brother. She preferred to crawl and drag her body through her increasingly dilapidated home and grounds rather than use a wheelchair.
Hence the posture and power of her reaching figure in Christina’s World (1948), Wyeth’s most famous work and one of the best-known works of American art. Christina’s World belongs to the Museum of Modern Art and does not travel because of the fragility of the tempera paint Wyeth used. But this exhibit features 10 studies, such as early compositional notations, detail studies, and the final watercolor sketch.
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saturday april 14
April 15th marks the 95th anniversary of the sinking of the steamship RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean on a calm, starry night in 1912. What better way to commemorate the event and honor the 1,523 lives lost than by attending Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, closing May 6th at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
If you’re looking for a good read on the subject, why not try a book published in 1955 that still makes the disaster come alive today: A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. I decided to pick up my copy (after many sad years of gathering dust on my bookshelf) and was surprised by its immediacy.
Lord interviewed Titanic survivors before writing his classic tale and the result is a minute-by-minute account of the ship’s sinking and its aftermath. His narrative “you are there” style is considered groundbreaking and influential, and when combined with a viewing of the Titanic artifacts, you can’t help but be moved.
friday april 13
The whole world is a little dimmer now. Kurt Vonnegut passed away at the age of 84.
Indianapolis, his birth city, is celebrating 2007 as The Year of Vonnegut. The Indianapolis Marion County Public Library has lots of events planned, too, and the One Book One City selection, announced just day before yesterday, is Slaughterhouse Five. Now this will all sadly be In Memoriam.
Slaughterhouse Five was written a long time after his experiences in WWII as a prisoner of war in Germany. He was actually there in the bombing of Dresden, and he survived it with other POWs in an old slaughterhouse cellar, which is why I feel this event is so poignant in the book.
I miss him already. Chances are, he doesn't miss us much, being up there talking to Newton and Shakespeare and all those folks he was looking forward to meeting.
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thursday april 05
April is National Gardening Month- the perfect time to plan and dream and let your inner gardener run wild.
This year’s theme is GROW: When you Garden, You Grow. And, the campaign has great resources for kids. Studies show the impact of gardening on children’s health and well-being, their attitudes towards learning and the environment, and their connections to community. Plus, it’s a great activity for the whole family.
Considering giving
family gardening a go? It might be fun to start with a visit to the
Cincinnati Flower Show at Coney Island April 21-29,
Zoo Blooms presented by the
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens April 6-29, or with some great resources from our collection.
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tuesday march 27
No “Irish History Month” would be complete without a tribute to the Easter Rising, the 1916 rebellion against Great Britain that failed, but sparked the astonishing victory of the War of Independence (1919-1921). William Butler Yeats, a contemporary, was the first writer to make great literature of the story. His poem “Easter, 1916” commemorates the 16 rebel leaders whose executions roused the country to revolution:
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
Among recent literary accounts are two superb novels by award-winning writers: Jamie O'Neill’s At Swim, Two Boys (2001) and Roddy Doyle’s A Star Called Henry (1999), which follows the story through the revolution and the subsequent civil war. The approaches of these native Dubliners couldn’t be less similar.
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monday march 19
A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon absorbed by the life story of a musician I knew nothing about. And now I find out that musician is coming to Cincinnati in May. Director Jeff Feuerzeig won a 2005 Sundance award for The Devil and Daniel Johnston, his documentary about the innovative and talented artist Daniel Johnston. Intertwined with Johnston's remarkable songwriting and visual art is his personal struggle with manic depression. Interviews with friends, colleagues, and his devoted parents as well as Daniel's recordings dating back to childhood, make for a gut-wrenching, complex portrayal of love, survival, and art.
Daniel Johnston performs live at The Southgate House in Newport on Friday, May 11.
The 16th annual Cincinnati International Wine Festival will be held this coming weekend, with the Grand Tastings scheduled for March 22 and 23. These recently published books in the Library’s collection will advance your knowledge and enhance your appreciation of the vino aging in your cellar.
The Oxford Companion to Wine
Updated in 2006, this authoritative compendium contains almost 4000 entries on every conceivable aspect of wine and wine making.
Wine: the 8,000-Year-Old Story of the Wine Trade by Thomas Pellechi
Pellechi presents a fascinating overview of the commercial impact of the wine industry throughout history.
The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home by Sheridan F. Warrick
Red and white varietals; pressing equipment; techniques of the craft: this is a complete guide for novices and experienced winemakers
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friday march 09
Trenton Lee Stewart will discuss The Mysterious Benedict Society and sign copies at 7 p.m. on Monday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers and at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Blue Manatee Children’s Bookstore.
That’s big news for two reasons. The Mysterious Benedict Society has earned rave reviews as a new ‘tween adventure series. The book’s success is no surprise, since Trent is an excellent writer – an Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate and instructor who has published many short stories and a fine adult novel, Flood Summer.
He’s also a former Library employee, now living in his native Arkansas, and we’re thrilled to welcome him back in triumph. If you have to lose a great colleague, the best way is to a book advance.
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monday march 05
Michael Palmer will promote his new medical thriller, The Fifth Vial, at the Oakley Branch this coming Thursday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. Turning the Page asked the author a few questions that he graciously found time to answer.
T.T.P.: Tell us a little bit about how you came to be a novelist.
M.P.: Robin Cook and I were classmates at Wesleyan in Connecticut, and trained together at Mass General Hospital. After I read Coma, I asked myself: If he can do this, why can't I? So I started writing an adventure story a page a night.
T.T.P.: Did it come from your experience with books and reading?
M.P.: When I started writing, I began to draw from everything I knew--books I had read and enjoyed; courses at Wesleyan; experiences in the ER and the office. Pulling those things together was, and is, one of the aspects of writing fiction that I enjoy the most.
T.T.P.: Or did your career in medicine serve as inspiration?
No doctor could write and not have his patents and life in medicine become woven into the fabric of his work.
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tuesday february 27
Cincinnati's citywide reading program, On the Same Page, is in full swing. Family and friends, neighbors, and co-workers are reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. For teens, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is this year's action-packed selection.
You can participate any number of ways. Pick up a copy of the book at any Library location or contact a branch to get multiple copies for a book club or class. Host your own discussion or attend a Library book discussion group. Post your comments about the book on the On the Same Page web site.
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tuesday february 20
Few stories of African American triumphs in the arts are as moving as that of Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Anderson, considered by many the greatest contralto of her time, was barred from using Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned the facility. In the widespread protest that followed, Eleanor Roosevelt and other prominent members resigned from the DAR, and Anderson performed instead at the memorial on Easter Sunday. A crowd of 75,000 attended the historic event.
Anderson, who died in 1993, went on to other trailblazing achievements, notably her 1955 debut as the first African American member of the Metropolitan Opera. Her successor in breaking barriers was the magnificent soprano Leontyne Price, the first African American to achieve an international reputation in opera and one of the finest of divas by any measure.
This Little Light of Mine: The Stories of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price celebrates these two artists through the talents of soprano
Adrienne Danrich. The Cincinnati Opera will present performances tonight at
Memorial Hall and tomorrow night in the Harriet Tubman Theater of the
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, both at 7 p.m. Touring programs are also available through February 23.
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The bestselling writer of medical thrillers, Michael Palmer, M.D., is returning to Cincinnati. Long a favorite of local readers, Dr. Palmer will be appearing at the Oakley Branch Library on March 8, at 7 pm, to sign copies of The Fifth Vial, his latest thriller. This may be his best novel yet!
In
The Fifth Vial, a Harvard Medical School student, a struggling private eye from Chicago, and a research scientist in Cameroon take different paths to uncover the existence of the Guardians, a secret society of infuential physicians. Using the global resources of a commercial medical laboratory, the Guardians circumvent established medical protocol for their own omnipotent ends, endangering the lives of many innocent victims. And their covert method involves a small vial of blood sealed with a green stopper: the fifth vial!
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tuesday february 13
Hockey is by far my favorite sport. I love the slap shot, the body check, the zamboni, and the fights. I sit and cheer and wish for skates as those "little boys" fight it out to get the tiny puck in the elusive net. And when they do, boy oh boy!
In 1980 something wonderful happened. Our young, green little boys duked it out with the big, seasoned Russian hockey team in the Olympics, and they won!
Wayne Coffey's 2005 book The Boys of Winter tells their story, which is even more fascinating than you think. The coaching was unconventional, and by using tactics that were unpredictable and new the Boys outsmarted the Men. They simply played better hockey, newer hockey, and their devotion and grit paid off in a gold medal.
Something wonderful happened in 1998 too: The US Women won Olympic Gold in hockey! Read about it in Crashing the Net by Mary Turco.
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thursday february 08
The next lecture in the Library’s weekly Black History Month series will be “Cincinnati’s Black Community in the Pre-Civil War Era,” presented by Nikki Marie Taylor (Saturday, February 10, 2:00 in the Huenefeld Tower Room). Professor Taylor, who recently joined the University of Cincinnati Department of History, is the author of Frontiers of Freedom: Cincinnati's Black Community, 1802-1868.
Frontiers of Freedom is a study of the determination, resourcefulness, and resilience of African American settlers in this Mason-Dixon border town, as notorious for racism – often violent – as it was distinguished by the work of abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors, including Harriet Beecher Stowe and Levi Coffin.
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tuesday february 06
Frank Warren, who conceived the Postsecret Project where people anonymously write their secrets on postcards and mail them to him to be published, will be at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati on Wednesday, February 7th at 7:00 pm. Warren is promoting his new book, The Secret Lives of Men and Women. This is his third collection of whimsical, heart-wrenching, chilling postcards, arranged in collage with original illustrations. For those interested in art, human psychology, and the secrets we all keep.
Other PostSecret books:
PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives
My Secret: a PostSecret book
The Sundance Film Festival closed in Park City, Utah, on January 28, releasing onto the market a great many fine independent movies, to judge by the number that won at least one award. The festival, produced by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, screens 125 dramatic and documentary feature films and more than 70 short films each year.
The Grand Jury Prize winners were the documentary Manda Balla (“Send a Bullet”), the first feature film directed by Jason Kohn, and the drama Padre Nuestro (“Our Father”), a Spanish-language film by first-time writer/director – and Fort Wright, Ky. native – Christopher Zalla.
Padre Nuestro follows the struggles of a Mexican boy to reach New York City and find the father he has never met, bearing as sole proof of his identity a locket and letter from his deceased mother. Manda Balla is a portrait of contemporary Brazil, focusing on its diversity, socioeconomic extremes, and a growing culture of violence and corruption.
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tuesday january 30
I am not one of those crafty hobbyist people. But in the last year or so, I have found a hobby that is fun, rewarding, and serves both the creative, right-brain person and the left-brain, analytical science guy within. I am talking about brewing beer. Though not an alkie or a weekend warrior, I do enjoy beer. Good beer, that is, as I am a serious beer snob. Enough about me, though, let's talk about brewing. It is simpler than you might imagine. Just hop (pun intended) in the car, drive down to
Listermann's, buy the gear and a kit, bring ‘em home, and brew it up right in your very own kitchen. Three weeks in the fermenter (a five-gallon bucket with a lid), three more weeks conditioning in the bottle, and you have two cases of yumminess to imbibe. Time for a party!
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thursday january 25
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder tells the story of Farmer’s quest to fight infectious disease in the poorest communities of the world. This critically acclaimed biography follows Farmer from childhood to his extraordinary career at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Farmer visits Xavier University on April 23 for an evening lecture open to the public.
wednesday january 17
Who are are all these great big people in my house, and where did my cute little toddlers go?
I have a few questions for parents everywhere: Which is more stressful, potty training or teaching your child to drive? Or, would you rather feed strained peas to a baby or a crisp fresh salad to a 13-year-old? Or how about watching your 1-year-old take his first steps toward you, then realizing, as you watch your 18-year-old walk away, that those first steps just weren't that long ago?
Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott have uncanny insight into parenting a teenager and an incredible talent for putting it onto paper. They co-author Zits, a daily comic strip about family life with a teenaged son. There are several collections available in book form.
We are expecting a new Zits sketchbook soon, Are We Out of the Driveway Yet? In the meantime, there are other Zits books in our collection with fabulous titles such as Pimp My Lunch and Growth Spurt.
Where did my toddlers go? The bigger mystery right now is, with all these teenagers around, where did all the food go?
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saturday january 06
This weekend is your last chance to see the Cincinnati Art Museum’s exhibition Waking Dreams – Experience the Enchantment, a gorgeous collection of major works by Pre-Raphaelite artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, and many others.
The drawings and numerous lush paintings abundantly demonstrate the mission of these 19th-century artists: to bring candid emotion and vitality back into English art, which they believed had become rigid and derivative. They wished to return to what they saw as the aesthetic values of the late Middle Ages and 14th century – before Raphael. The show also includes fine objects, from furniture to jewelry, as examples of the movement’s emphasis on creative craftsmanship of the highest quality.
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thursday january 04
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the great Ohio Valley Flood of 1937. CET, Cincinnati’s PBS affiliate, is inviting viewers to share pictures, stories, and videotape of flood film footage, as the station remembers the most deadly and devastating flood in modern memory. Selected submissions will appear on CETconnect.org beginning the week of January 15.
Following a month of heavy rainfall, the Ohio River crested at 79.99 feet in Cincinnati on January 26, 1937, the highest level ever recorded. Twenty-four years earlier, the Ohio Valley was ravaged by two great deluges. The river rose to 62.2 feet on January 14, 1913, at Cincinnati. It crested again the last week of March at 69.9 feet.
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friday december 29
After the April 2003 fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces, the world was horrified to learn that the Iraq Museum had been looted. The museum housed an enormous collection of Mesopotamian artifacts, and therefore the most ancient creations of human civilization. I remember a friend crying over the presumed loss of the wide-eyed worshipper (votive) figures , the Golden Lyre of Ur, and the pair of exquisite Ram in the Thicket statues, fabricated of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper, shell, and red limestone.
These are among the oldest Mesopotamian treasures, the 5,000-year-old legacy of the Sumerians, who gave us writing. Among the writings feared missing were the Code of Hammurabi, the best preserved among early bodies of law, and the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first surviving works of literature and still a great read.
A News Hour interview in July with reserves Marine Colonel Matthew Bogdanos, who had been charged with recovering the treasures, seemed to offer some hope, simply because Bogdanos made such a powerful impression. An assistant district attorney with a master’s degree in Classics, he himself seemed to exemplify civilization through a remarkable combination of idealism and resolution. Toward the end of the interview, Bogdanos was asked about his prospects for success. He replied with an almost laconic serenity:
“I'm a Marine. I expect to recover these items, no matter how long it takes…. To those who have taken the items, I urge them to listen to their conscience and their sense of duty in returning those items. And to those who need to be guided by emotions other than those, my message is simple: We will find you, no matter how long it takes and no matter where you are, we will find you, and we will recover this property.”
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thursday december 21
The wonderful documentary Ballets Russes is now at the Library, after a too-brief stint on the big screen here last summer. The film recounts the glories and “ballet battles” of the two troupes of dancers, originally all Russian émigrés, who toured the world for decades during the mid-twentieth century. These companies brought ballet to regions where it had never been seen before, particularly in the Americas and Australia.
A 2000 reunion of former Ballet Russe members in New Orleans gave Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine an opportunity to capture their accounts of this pioneering period in ballet history. The film combines these candid, affectionate, moving, and often humorous interviews with precious glimpses of legendary works and performers.
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wednesday december 20
The Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library is accepting nominations for the first annual Ohio Advocates of Literacy and Literary Arts Award in honor of “grassroots efforts to advocate, promote, and celebrate reading, literacy, and the culture of the book within the State of Ohio.”
Two awards will be issued:
- Literacy Advocate. This award “honors those who have dedicated time, energy, and resources to champion literacy within the state.”
- Advocate of the Literary Arts. This award “honors editors, authors, illustrators, teachers, bookmakers, publishers, booksellers, and others who have contributed to this field.”
Do you know someone who you’d like to nominate for one of these awards? Read on for more details...
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tuesday december 12
I recently posted a Turning the Page entry about the Charles Dickens book A Christmas Carol. It was published in 1843, 163 years ago.
Looking at these dates gave me pause. My great-grandfather George Peet, who was my mother's father's father, was born in 1844, the year after A Christmas Carol was published.
This same great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, lost his leg at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, spent time in the dreaded Libby Prison, and came home to tell about it. Thank goodness, since consequently here I am. He was a member of the 5th Ohio Volunteers, based out of Camp Dennison, Ohio, which is just a little bit east of Cincinnati.
It's fascinating to me how literature can span time and unify us like it does. And it also shows yet again how there really is nothing new under the sun.
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monday december 11
Looking for something unique to give this holiday season? Check out the Images of America series that features books about the history of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Histories of specific communities, such as Delhi: Cincinnati's West Side, College Hill, or Fort Thomas, in addition to subject specific studies such as Cincinnati Cemeteries: Queen City Underground or Stepping Out in Cincinnati: Queen City Entertainment 1900 - 1960 mean there's something for everyone. Take a look at the extensive list of titles that covers a wide range of local interest topics.
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friday november 17
A hilarious epistolary novel showed up in the second-floor display area last week, Bonnie Thomas Abbott's Radical Prunings: A Novel of Officious Advice from the Contessa of Compost. If you've ever had mean thoughts while listening to a gardening person provide predictable opinions about square tomatoes, this is the novel for you. The letters seek advice from Mertensia Corydalis, a gardening expert with a syndicated column and strong positive opinions about labor-intensive gardening. The advice is similar to what you'll see in Eleanor Perenyi's Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden.
Reading between the lines in the answers that appear in her column, readers come to know quite a bit about Mertensia--that she's recently divorced from a fellow gardener who's now married to a floozie. Mertensia herself seems kind of interested (if you get my drift) in the young man who helps out with the garden (or why would she insist at least twice that he remove his shirt)?
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thursday november 16
Robert Sabuda, the premier paper engineer pop-up artist around, is coming to Cincinnati!
We have exciting plans for this Saturday, Nov. 18: A Pop-Up Party with Robert Sabuda from 1-3 in the Main Library Atrium. It will be fabulous fun: a talk with slides from Mr. Sabuda, pop-up crafts for everyone, exhibits of his work throughout the library, and opportunities to get Robert Sabuda's real live signature in your copies of his books (available at the Friends Shop)!
Every book by Robert Sabuda is a glorious work of art. My favorite, Winter's Tale, is a gorgeous white and sparkly depiction of winter, from the first pop-up of a soaring pure white owl to the last twinkly forest clearing.
I have written before about the appeal of pop-up books. Remember: definitely NOT just for kids!
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friday november 03
October 29th-November 4th is National Infertility Awareness Week. This Saturday, the Ohio chapter of Resolve: The National Infertility Association will hold their annual conference in Loveland. Today's front page of the Enquirer features an article entitled "Fertility Programs Lessen Financial Risk", discussing the steps local programs (the Institute for Reproductive Health, the Center for Reproductive Health, and the Bethesda Center for Reproductive Health and Fertility) are taking to reduce the financial burden on couples seeking IVF or other high-cost fertility treatments.
The library has many books dealing with infertility. Here are some of the more recent titles:
wednesday november 01
The Ohioana Library's Hamilton County Writers Celebration will be in the Tower Room on the third floor of the main library on Sunday, November 12, at 1:30. The event is open to the public, and you might want to arrive early to get a good seat. We've invited more than 130 writers who were either born in Hamilton County, or who have lived here for many years, or who write about Cincinnati--either real Cincinnati or a fictionalized version (with vampires, and excuse me if I'm wrong about vampires being fictional)--and who published books, music compositions, or new magazines or newspapers within the last year.
Not all 130 writers will come, of course, but already a selection of around 40 interesting and diverse writers have agreed to come. Mercantile Library Board Member Buck Niehoff will give a keynote talk; the writers will receive certificates, and we have created a slide show honoring their books and describing their work and lives. And yes--refreshments at the end and plenty of time to meet the writers and look at their books.
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friday october 13
Wow--that was sudden! Just the other day I was looking out the window of the car and noticed the trees starting to change. Today there's a nip in the air and it really feels like fall. According to the National Forest Service, fall color will be at its best between now and the end of October. What better time to grap a map or a few guidebooks and take to the backroads for a day or a weekend?
We have a lot of travel books for the Midwest that could be useful for planning a little leaf-watching jaunt. The title Scenic driving: Kentucky might be just the thing if you want to head south. There's a very nice route from Frankfort to Florence which takes a detour through the picturesque town of Rabbit Hash. It's probably a good idea to see the town now, after the midwest premiere of the movie, who knows what'll happen?
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thursday october 05
The Bluegrass music tradition is well represented with masters of the genre at Tall Stacks this year: my favorite Del McCoury Band, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Cherryholmes family, Ralph Stanley, and so many more fantastic musicians. This is heaven on earth!
Many of these groups are award winners, and all of them have played on the stage of The Grand Ole Opry!
We have music here at the Library by these extraordinary musicians, as well as books to read about the Bluegrass heritage.
The Bluegrass Reader (2004), edited by Thomas Goldsmith, is an entertaining collection of articles about the Bluegrass music scene.
From Every Stage: Images of America's Roots Music (2005) by Stephanie P. Ledgin is a fascinating look at the development of bluegrass among other types of music that originated in the Americas.
Bluegrass might be something that is unfamiliar to you. Give it a chance; get to know it. It is original American Music that expresses the heart of all of us.
Some of the most requested books in the Art & Music Department are those on the music business and associated topics, i.e., management and booking, career advancement, marketing and promotion, record labels, recording, and legal issues. For the first time in three years, a bibliography of these books has been revised and updated. It is now available as a printed brochure and online: The Music Business: Basic Sources of Information. There will also be a selection of these books displayed in the Atrium Friday, October 6 through Saturday, October 14. The timing is not accidental...
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tuesday september 26
Tom LeClair, one of my English professors when I attended the University of Cincinnati, has written his fourth novel, The Liquidators. In this story, Tom Bond, of Middletown, Ohio, operates a mobile salvage enterprise, Midwest Liquidators. Bond’s caravan of independent truckers hauls a varied inventory of remaindered and discontinued goods on a circuit of tertiary cities of the Midwest.
Business is good, but Bond wants to recruit a successor. His son refuses (“I don’t want to live off failure”); his daughter sees the business as a cult of economic defeat; and his truckers aren’t interested. He considers the ephemerality of his enterprise and wonders, “What lasts?” That’s when Bond has a dream to build an enduring memorial to human industry and folly in his hometown. The Liquidators is a discerning character study and a blackly comic fable written partly in homage to Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom.
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tuesday september 12
The 2006 winners of the Harvey Awards were announced Saturday during the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named for Harvey Kurtzman, who is best known for founding, writing, and illustrating MAD magazine, the Harveys have great prestige as the only awards voted exclusively by comic book professionals.
Here’s a list of the nominees, with winners in boldface. Congratulations to Carol Tyler, Cincinnati resident and Library program participant, whose Late Bloomer was nominated in the category Best Graphic Album – Previously Published Material.
Best Graphic Album - Original
Combat Zone by Karl Zinsmeister (Marvel Comics)
The Lone and Level Sands by A. David Lewis (Caption Box) – on order
Night Fisher by R. Kikuo Johnson (Fantagraphics Books) – on order
Tricked by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf)
Wimbledon Green by Seth (Drawn & Quarterly)
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friday september 08
If you're reading this, you may have already missed him. Chuck Klosterman, acclaimed music / pop culture critic, is speaking at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati at 7 pm TONIGHT. Mr. Klosterman will be promoting his newest book Chuck Klosterman IV: a decade of curious people and dangerous ideas.
Klosterman writes for such notable publications as SPIN, Esquire, GQ, The New York Times, and the The Washington Post. I discovered him through his book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: a low culture manifesto where he won me over with chapters like "What Happens When People Stop Being Polite", a sort-of deconstruction / character analysis of MTV's The Real World. And I don't even watch The Real World, anymore. At least not after the London cast. Anyway...
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thursday august 24
"Intriguingly beautiful works of art." Not words most would associate with graffiti, that blatantly vandalistic and incomprehensible scourge on our fair cities. Maybe the naysayers should see the book DF: Idiots On Parade. Published by Shake It, Ink. (as in the Northside record store), this book displays legal and illegal creations by the notorious DF graffiti crew. The DF group has been around for over twenty years, with origins in New York, though now claims members across the country (including Cincinnati). These folks are also successful--some have attended the best art schools, scored design jobs with high-dollar accounts such as Nike, been on television, and had their works shown in galleries around the world. Local DF artist Rapes, & po
