Books, Movies, and Music
Your OTHER summer reading list...
Chances are, you've got a giant summer reading list coming at you this summer from your school. Once you done with that, why not sit back and get into a graphic novel?
Here are some stellar recommendations from Teen Librarian Justin Hoenke. You can trust him on these picks...back in the day, he was one of the people walking out of the library with a stack of graphic novels.
While you're at it, why not sign up for our Teen Summer Reading program? Every graphic novel you read gets you closer to a prize!
Got any suggestions? Let us know and we'll add it to the list.
It's history!
Everything old is new again.
For historians, this phrase is music to the ears; there’s always something new to learn about an old topic. In Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution, Nathaniel Philbrick reminds us all that the city of Boston has been home to a very resilient people for over 350 years. His analysis of events like the Boston Tea Party and the engagements at Lexington and Concord provide a fresh perspective into the actions of the colonials and their leaders, both military and political. The Battle of Bunker Hill itself became a Rubicon for the rebellious Americans, the true beginning of eight years of struggle and courage and death.
Ground Breaking Reads @ the Northgate Library
This year’s Summer Reading Program for adults is "Groundbreaking Reads.” This is a rather intriguing theme because of its broad meaning. It can imply anything from physical surfaces to emotional ones that take us into the dark unknown.
As the Northgate staff sat down to discuss ideas for this year’s Summer Reading Program, we thought it would be a cool idea to include adults by introducing a book club. We’ve had several patrons asks us about book groups in the Hixson area, and we thought this would be a nice opportunity to start a reading group.
The next step was deciding on books. “Groundbreaking Reads” after all is a broad theme. As the staff looked over the variety of concepts, we thought it would be fun to take it literally. What we found were books that literally explored underneath the earth’s surface, looked deep into a rabbit’s hole, or simply created a new genre of fiction with their influence on literature.
Southern Literature Is...
People who call Chattanooga home (as well as it's many visitors,) have many jewels to enjoy here.
Recently, one such jewel was the Celebration of Southern Literature, formerly known as the Conference on Southern Literature. The appeal of southern literature is an inexplicable combination of tragedy, hilarity, and the music of life. The Pre-Conference activities were held at the Chattanooga Public Library's downtown branch with authors sharing their art in small group settings.
At the Tivoli Theatre, between sessions of readings and panel discussions, participants rushed to purchase the new titles by the presenters. Conference-attendees had several wonderful opportunities to meet the authors, playwrights, and poets and have their books signed by awe-struck fans.
The enjoyment of the gems of this event can continue, since many of these southern authors' digital and hardcopy books can be found at the Public Library.
Check out a few photos from the pre-conference programs at the library on Flickr!
Lit for ladies
The ladies take the spotlight in this review of new arrivals. Holly Goddard Jones gives Southern gothic undercurrents to her mystery The Next Time You See Me. Young Emily, lonely 7th-grader, finds a body in the woods and decides to keep the find to herself, so she’ll finally have a friend. Teacher Susanna hasn’t heard from her hard-partying sister sister in days and weeks, and seems to be the only one concerned. All Wyatt has is his job and his dog. Choices made by these three will see their lives converge in explosive fashion.
Sisters thrown together by necessity are the heart of Elinor Lipman’s The View from Penthouse B. Margot has been left poorer than a churchmouse through the actions of her convicted-fertility doctor-now-ex-husband, while her sister Gwen still mourns the too-early death of her spouse. Sharing the penthouse gives them the emotional prop each other needs; third roomie Anthony helps out with the finances and moral support. Just as things are starting to look up, Margot’s former husband, released from prison, moves into an apartment downstairs.