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Review: Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton
Barb Husch, Forestville Library
Great Books Reads The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
In 1897 Stephen Crane survived the shipwreck of the SS Commodore off the coast of Florida. He wrote of his experience in the short story, "The Open Boat."
Join the Great Books discussion of this poignant seafaring story at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, January 8 in the Sturgeon Bay Library.
Read or listen to the story online:
The Open Boat by Stephen Crane (text)
The Open Boat by Stephen Crane (text)
Stephen Crane Short Story collection including The Open Boat (audio)
Background on Stephen Crane and The Open Boat can be found at Wikipedia and The Literary Digest (June 23, 1900),
December Multicultural Book Group
This month the focus of the book group is the Phillipines. The title of the book, Ilustrado, has its roots in the early Spanish colonial history of the country. The Ilustrado were an educated class that developed after the Spanish introduced public education in the 1860's.
Miguel Syjuco's book has won a number of awards and was given an impressive list of starred reviews by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, and more. This is a very stylish and creative work that really brings the writer, Crispin Salvador to life.
More on the book:
A discussion of the book on WorldLiteratureForum.com
Miguel Syjuco speaking about the book:
Lincoln Book Discussion
HISTORY BOOK DISCUSSION
with JOHN HARRIS
Sturgeon Bay Library
Thursday, November 11 at 6:30 pm
History and Lincoln buffs: Read the book BLOOD ON THE MOON: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Edward Steers Jr. and join the discussion led by JOHN HARRIS. Be prepared for a lively discussion: this book makes new and provacative claims about a conspiracy surrounding Abraham Lincoln's assasination. Books are available for borrowing through the library catalog. Or you can preview most of the book at
Google Books: Blood on the Moon by Edward Steers Jr.
If you don't have time to read the book, join us anyway for the discussion.
Happy Birthday Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was born 113 years ago on August 30th. Her most famous novel, Frankenstein, is still as fresh and popular today as it was when she published it in 1818. In fact, gothic novels are more popular than ever. Grab a copy of Frankenstein from the library, read it online, or listen to it online, then join in the discussion at Great Books on Wednesday, September 15 at 3 pm in the Sturgeon Bay Library.
"The Wisconsin Gardener" videos
With lots of sun and rain in Door County this summer, local gardens are magnificent! Now is a good time to brush up on gardening skills and plans with the Wisconsin Public Television program, The Wisconsin Gardener. The library's old VHS tapes of this series have been replaced by a full set of DVDs. There is even one program about Bailey's Harbor. Go ahead, reserve your copies right now, then pick them up at the circulation desk:
- The Wisconsin Gardener. Bailey's Harbor
- More Places to Visit
- Asparagus, Grass & Daffodils
- Ideas for Spring
- Places to Visit
- Horsetails, Tropicals & Tree Peonies
- Raising the Roof
- Think Green
- The Magic of Gardening
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Winter Landscapes
- Garden Design
- Celebrate Fall
- Healthy Weeds
- Focus on Foliage
- Container Gardening
- Harvest Traditions
- Hot Plants
“WORST CASE” by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
The son of a wealthy family is snatched off the street and held hostage by a man who considers himself to be the ultimate environmentalist, amongst other obsessions. Detective Michael Bennett and Special Agent Emily Barker (FBI) must find the killer as he systematically kidnaps the children of rich parents. the killer quizzes the kids for the price of their life on issues involving the price some pay for the luxury of others. Fast paced thriller, with some romance; the Nanny of Michael’s numerous adopted kids seems to be having mixed feelings, plus Special Agent Emily is attracted to our detective's warm personality. This new novel is good read reminiscent of previous books written by Patterson.
-Barb, Forestville Library
Teddy Roosevelt and His Incredible Amazon Journey
Attention history buffs! Don't miss the April 15th, 6:30 pm discussion of Candice Millard's thrilling adventure story, The River of Doubt : Theordore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey in the Sturgeon Bay Library. One of this country's most colorful presidents, Theodore Roosevelt participated in many expeditions in his life. But none was as treacherous or challenging as his journey down an uncharted tributary of the Amazon, the River of Doubt. Last season's history book discussion covered Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough, which focused on Roosevelt's early life. Professor John Harris will once again lead a lively discussion on another aspect of the life of this fascinating personality, President Theodore Roosevelt.
"This is one of the best books I've ever read." - Alison Greaves
A film summary of the River of Doubt expedition released by the Library of Congress gives a visual picture of the members of the expedition and some background information:
Expand Your Mind with Continuing Education
For the curious among us who are excited by new ideas, new experiences and personal growth, Door County provides many opportunites for continuing education. Learning in Retirement, based in Sturgeon Bay at the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, provides a large number of classes on a wide range of subjects. The Clearing Folk School in Ellison Bay is another distinguished center of learning with a long and rich local history. And for the creatively inclined, there is the Peninsula School of Art near Fish Creek. A complete list of educational courses is available at the Door County Visitor Bureau web site.
For those who are motivated to learn online from the numerous public-access computers at all branches of the Door County Library or from the comfort of home, there are a number of web sites that offer wonderful educational videos and podcasts.
TED, Ideas worth spreading (video) : Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.
FORA.TV (video) : Feed your inner genius; Fora helps intelligent, engaged audiences get smart.
PBS VIDEO (video) : Full length PBS programs including American Experience, Nova, Frontline and more.
Book TV on CSPAN2 (video) : Top nonfiction authors and books.
JUSTICE with Michael Sandel (video) : Take a front row seat at the first course Harvard has ever made available to everyone.
Princeton University WebMedia (video) : Archived lectures.
Khan Academy (video) : Science and math videos created by a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere.
Yale University Netcasts (audio)
University of Oxford Podcasts (audio)
Another source for continuing education are videos and audiobooks produced by the Teaching Company. "Since 1990, great teachers from the Ivy League, Stanford, Georgetown, and other leading colleges and universities have crafted over 200 courses for lifelong learners." Many Teaching Company audio CD's and video DVD's are available for check-out through the library catalog:
Scandinavian Mysteries
I’ve been enjoying fiction by Scandinavian authors lately. Håkan Nesser, whose Swedish titles have been translated into English, has written a series of mysteries with Inspector Van Veeteren as the lead investigator. Borkmann’s Point, the first in the series includes many characters and builds into a crescendo who-done-it. Håkan Nesser has won the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times. I enjoyed this one enough that I’ve put a hold on the next Nesser novel with Inspector Van Veeteren, The Return.
-Becca Berger, Door County Library Director
More on the Inspector Van Veeteren series on Fantastic Fiction
More about Håkan Nesser on Wikipedia