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May 2008
Library Programs & ActivitiesFree Computer Workshops
Summer Reading ProgramsAll Summer Reading Program Registration begins May 27th in Youth Services. Final Date for recording books in log is July 25. This year’s theme is Starship Adventure @ Your Library! » For Kids
Programs for 2 and 3 years olds Tuesday, July 17 Programs for 3-5 year olds Tuesday, July 17
Programs for K-5 students Magic Tree House Book Club Thursday June 19 @11:00 #16 Hour of the Olympics Please pre-register for the book club. You will learn fun facts behind the book, create a theme craft and eat unique theme-related refreshments. » For TeensSummer Reading Program for Young Adults Thursday June 12 @ 3:00 Swing Dance. Stardust Dance Studio is leading a class in swing dancing. Prepare to have a fun time with your friends. Refreshments will be provided. Please pre-register. Thursday June 19 @ 3:00: Digital Photography Workshop. Jeff Sturgill of Ritz Camera will guide you in basic digital photography skills – how to shoot, capture and download images. Please pre-register. Thursday June 26 @ 3:00 High School Book Club. “My Sister’s Keeper” by bestselling author Jodi Picoult. High school students are invited to join in a discussion of this real page-turner and thought-provoking book. Please pre-register. Books available at the library. Thursday July 3 @ 3:00: Gaming Fun! Guitar Hero 2 & 3 on the big screen; DDR Wii, Board Games (bring your favorite). Free food and fun! Thursday, July 10 @ 3:00 Fun in the Kitchen. Meet in the Demo Kitchen at Food City (Eastman Road). Learn about foods from other countries as cooking specialists demonstrate recipes that spotlight international food – perhaps Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Greek or who knows! Taste samples of food prepared. Please pre-register. Prize drawings after each program. » For AdultsSummer Reading Program for Adults: The library has been offering free tours. Watch our website for the date of the next one, or call reference at 224-2539. Noteworthy News
We’ve added three new reading and literacy development resources to our website. Parents and children can search each database by reading levels, language, title and author. The TumbleReadables has a text enlarging feature that allows the reader to view the text as large print. There are book reviews if you want to know what the book is about before selecting it. There are even many books in foreign languages, including Spanish and French.
We have two new electronic resources that have been added to the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) with state funds. They are: Infotrac Small Business Collections and Infotrac Vocations, Careers and Technical Education Collection. Go to www.kingsportlibrary.org and check it out! Our website and our online catalog have been redesigned and should both be more user-friendly. Librarian Lowdown:
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Book BitesReviews by Danny Bartlett
The Importance of Being Kennedy: a Novel Using the device of a fictional nanny, Graham takes an inside look at the Kennedy family, from shortly before the birth of JFK in 1917 to the death of daughter Kathleen in 1948. Nora Brennan, an Irish immigrant, is the main caretaker of the young children during these years. Graham’s research seems evident, as she portrays the members of the large family. Father Joe is a philanderer. Mother Rose leaves much of the day-to-day care of the children to the nannies and often leaves on extended vacations. JFK (always called Jack by his family) was sickly throughout much of his life. Daughter Rose Marie was a sweet child, but became more difficult to manage as an adult and underwent a lobotomy which ruined her life. Daughter Kathleen was more or less cut off from the family (especially Rose) after she married a Protestant. When Kathleen dies in a plane crash, only her father attends her funeral in France. There is also much interesting material about daily life in London during the air raids of World War II.
Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I went from Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair Goldberg, a television writer and producer best known for Family Ties and Spin City, has written an interesting and easily-read autobiography. A significant portion of the story is about the love-of-his-life, Diana, who seems to have been a steadying influence in his life. Goldberg’s devotion to his family (he and Diana are the parents of two daughters) is illustrated by an anecdote in which he and Diana walk out of a dinner party at the home of a top Hollywood producer when the producer tells him that he cannot be successful in Hollywood and maintain a family life at the same time. Much of the story is also about Family Ties and his close relationship with star Michael J. Fox. Their friendship was tested later on, when they could not see eye-to-eye when working together a second time on the series Spin City. Goldberg and Diana now live in Vermont and seem to be enjoying a less-stressful lifestyle.
Looking Good Dead: a Detective Superintendent Grace Mystery This book relates the true story of husband and wife, Roger Brooks and Veryl Goodnight, who adopt an orphaned one-week-old buffalo, which they name Charlie. Initially, Charlie was to be with them only a short time, while Veryl used him as a model for a sculpture she was creating. Charlie develops a deep relationship with his human “parents,” especially Roger. When Charlie finally is moved to a nearby buffalo ranch, he injures himself the first night, and Roger and Veryl take him to a Colorado veterinary school for treatment and then bring him back “home” to recuperate. Charlie’s life is eventually shortened by another later injury. The author mixes in quite a bit of history regarding the slaughter and near-extinction of buffalo in the 19th century West, and ongoing problems with the state of Montana freely slaughtering buffalo which wander out of their protected home in Yellowstone National Park. For my taste, some of the historical sections could have been somewhat condensed, but all in all, this is a very warm book about an almost unheard-of relationship between man and buffalo.
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