Saturday, May 22, 2010

Book Club Forum


Wednesday, June 9th 7:00-8:30 at the Pleasant Hill Library. Ron Shoop (Random House) will present a set of "provocative" books great for discussions or personal reading. There will also be a free raffle. The ad doesn't say what will be raffled off but I can assume it might be books.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

May Book: Lamb by Christopher Moore


The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years — except Biff.Ever since the day when he came upon six-year-old Joshua of Nazareth resurrecting lizards in the village square, Levi bar Alphaeus, called "Biff," had the distinction of being the Messiah's best bud. That's why the angel Raziel has resurrected Biff from the dust of Jerusalem and brought him to America to write a new gospel, one that tells the real, untold story. Meanwhile, Raziel will order pizza, watch the WWF on TV, and aspire to become Spider-Man.Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung-fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes — whose considerable charms fall to Biff to sample, since Josh is forbidden the pleasures of the flesh. (There are worse things than having a best friend who is chaste and a chick magnet!) And, of course, there is danger at every turn, since a young man struggling to understand his godhood, who is incapable of violence or telling anything less than the truth, is certain to piss some people off. Luckily Biff is a whiz at lying and cheating — which helps get his divine pal and him out of more than one jam. And while Josh's great deeds and mission of peace will ultimately change the world, Biff is no slouch himself, blessing humanity with enduring contributions of his own, like sarcasm and cafĂ© latte. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no onewho loves Josh more — except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala — and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.Lamb is the crowning achievement of Christopher Moore's storied career: fresh, wild, audacious, divinely hilarious, yet heartfelt, poignant, and alive, with a surprising reverence. Let there be rejoicing unto the world! Christopher Moore is come — to bring truth, light, and big yuks to fans old and new with the Greatest Story Never Told!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

More Quiz Fun!

Fun should be in quotes. I got 3 of 12.


http://www.sporcle.com/games/JayHankEdLyonJr/subtitles

Friday, April 30, 2010

Dave Eggers Coming to Walnut Creek

The brilliant young writer Dave Eggers (What is the What, Away We Go, A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius) is coming to Walnut Creek as part of the CCC Library's Summer Reading Festival.

Tickets to see him and for the book signing are free (though with processing fees etc. its $1.50 per ticket).

You can get them here: http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?orgid=23939&event_val=LBRY

More info on the Summer Reading Festival:
http://guides.ccclib.org/SRF

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter...The Trailer!

April Book of the Month: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith


Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.
Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire. When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Take Action!


Contact your "mayor", your council people, and your governor! Demand more money for our libraries!

"History is a race between education and catastrophe."

-H.G. Wells

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

California Libraries Need Your Help!!!

Libraries across California need your support this week!

This week is National Library Week, a perfect time for you to send a quick e-mail to your state legislators and governor to let them know how important libraries are to you!

Libraries are in a perfect storm. They are busier than ever helping families survive during these tough economic times, yet public, school, and academic libraries are facing closures and elimination of librarians and library workers—the people who help those with a job application, teach 21st century skills, and nurture the love of reading in kids that will serve them the rest of their lives.

State governments provide much needed funding for libraries to provide public access to the Internet for everyone, databases for individuals and small businesses, homework help, and much more. Without this funding, libraries are in peril, and residents in California are denied critical resources when they need them most.

Please send an e-mail to your governor and your representatives today, and pass this message on to your friends and colleagues. Go to this website: http://capwiz.com/ala/ca/home/

Thank you for advocating for libraries and library staff in California.

Never Judge A Book By Its Cover

But at least remember what they look like!

Try this one: http://www.sporcle.com/games/bookcovers.php

More Quiz Fun!

http://www.sporcle.com/games/algernon/time_novels

I scored a 16 out of a 100! Is that an F?

1959 Trailer: Anatomy of a Murder

To get us ramped up for our meeting tomorrow, here is the trailer from the 1959 movie "Anatomy of a Murder" based closely on the book for last month. It is very different from the trailers we see today.


Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Nice Picture

Just thought I'd share it.

It's Not Just Libraries


Apparently for profit book sources are in trouble too.

From a story on Yahoo News

Borders Group

Associated Press

The printed book market just doesn't seem large enough for Borders anymore. Borders is the second-largest bookstore chain in the U.S. behind Barnes & Noble. Unfortunately for these companies, bookstore chains are going the way of the dinosaur with Amazon digitizing books and becoming the largest online seller of books in the United States. Borders is developing a Kobo e-reader to try and compete, but with e-book readers from Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble, Borders may be living on borrowed time.

How troubled is Borders? The company's stock currently sells for under $2 dollars a share. Borders has to repay a $42.5 million dollar loan due on April 1. If Borders can raise this money, the bookstore chain still faces a $360 million dollar note payment due July 2011.

Perhaps the most damning sign was that the company's CEO left to take a job at a supermarket chain. The company's short-term hopes lie in getting creditors to refinance debts. The best hope for long-term survival is an acquisition by a larger bookstore chain like Barnes & Noble.

Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/109251/businesses-on-the-brink-change-or-fail??mod=career-leadership