New This Week
May 19, 2009
Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby
Column: At the Library for May 19/09
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby
Prolific science-fiction author Ben Bova enters the mainstream with his new novel THE IMMORTALITY FACTOR. Bova explores the political, social and religious implications of organ regeneration and stem cell transplants. Who is entitled to medical treatment and why help round out this exciting thriller.
Randa Abdel-Fattah’s TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT ME is about a teenage girl’s attempts to blend into a racially-hostile high school. By dying her hair blond and wearing blue contact lenses, the student is able hide her Lebanese attributes. She isâ€"howeverâ€"unable to hide who she is from herself. Award-winning book for teen readers.
Preschool Story Time this Wednesday at 11:00 am, 1:15 pm, & 6:30 pm, and Toddler Story this Friday at 10:30 am will be all about teddy bears!
Jim Ellemers will be giving basic computer and internet training sessions every Wednesday between 2 and 5 pm. Anyone interested can register at the circulation desk.
Don’t forget to come and see Darlene Chatten’s beautiful and award-winning artwork.
Look for the next book sale by the Friends of the Cranbrook Public Library on Saturday, June 20th, during Sam Steele Days. They will be in Spirit Square (10th Ave.) in a big tent with crafters. Here is your chance to haul away your summer reading. They have children & adult books, beach reading, popular fiction and non-fiction, and the very popular newer releases. Mark this date on your calendar and come. They have a great book selection. If you would like to donate to this sale, please drop off books at the front circulation desk. For further information, please call Marilyn Forbes at 489-6254.
The Friends of the Cranbrook Public Library and the College of the Rockies will be showing the travelogue MOUNTAIN FOOTSTEPS : IMAGES OF THE EAST KOOTENAYS. Janice Strong will be presenting on Monday, June 8, 2009 in the Lecture Theatre (Room 250) of the College (Limited Seating). Presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. Doors open 6:30 p.m. ADMISSION IS BY DONATION. For more information, please contact April at 489-2038.
ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:
Tracing Your Irish Family History â€" Anthony Adolph (929.1072)
125 Best Casseroles & One-Pot Meals â€" Rose Murray (641.821)
From Truth to Reconciliation : Transforming the Legacy of Residential Schools (371)
1000 Home Ideas â€" Stafford Cliff (747)
Ecological Intelligence â€" Daniel Goleman (333.7)
The Great Depression Ahead â€" Harry S. Dent (330.973)
The G Free Diet : A Gluten-Free Survival Guide â€" Elisabeth Hasselbeck (613.25)
10-10-10 â€" Suzy Welch (153.83)
Becoming Enlightened â€" His Holiness The Dalai Lama (294.3442)
The Truth About Organic Gardening â€" Jeff Gillman (635.0484)
The Winner Stands Alone â€" Paulo Coelho (fic)
The Immortality Factor â€" Ben Bova (fic)
Summer on Blossom Street â€" Debbie Macomber (fic)
Time is a River â€" Mary Alice Monroe (fic)
Once in a Lifetime â€" Cathy Kelly (fic)
The Forgotten Garden â€" Kate Morton (fic)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie â€" Alan Bradley (mys)
Dead and Gone â€" Charlaine Harris (mys)
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo â€" Stieg Larsson (mys)
Dragon’s Luck â€" Robert Asprin (sci fic)
Diamond Star â€" Catherine Asaro (sci fic)
Legend â€" David Lynn Golemon (pb)
Duchess by Night â€" Eloisa James (pb)
Red â€" Jordan Summers (pb)
Flashdance DVD)
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (DVD)
X2 : X-Men United (DVD)
Black Adder v. 3 and 4 (DVD)
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates ; Complete Collection (DVD)
YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:
Ten Things I Hate About Me â€" Randa Abdel-Fattah (ya fic)
The Musician’s Daughter â€" Susanne Dunlap (ya fic)
Warrior Princess â€" Frewin Jones (ya fic)
Sunrise â€" Erin Hunter (ya fic)
Res Judicata â€" Vicki Grant (ya pb)
Jerk California â€" Jonathan Frisen (ya pb)
Running the Risk â€" Lesley Choyce (ya pb)
Nearest to the Sun â€" Nancy Loewen (j 523.4)
The Largest Planet â€" Nancy Loewen (j 523.45)
Farthest from the Sun â€" Nancy Loewen (j523.481)
How Weird is It â€" Ben Hillman (j 500)
Cut-Paper Play â€" Sandi Henry (j 7445.54)
Babies Don’t Eat Pizza â€" Dianne Danzig (j pic)
MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:
American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick would stop once a week at the Lucky Dog Pet Shop, and buy a few pounds of inexpensive ground horsemeat. Unfortunately, he didn’t own a dog. The horsemeat was for himself and his wife. They lived in abject poverty.
Dick was born in 1928. When he was 9 he discovered the OZ books of Frank L. Baum, and his imagination took off. He wanted to write books like Baum’s, and he spent his entire life trying to do just that. By the time he was 30, he had sold over 80 stories to various pulp magazines. Yet this was low and often non-paying hack work, and his lack of earnings caused him to have a series of nervous breakdowns, 4 divorces and drug addiction. Somehow, he kept on writing.
By the late 70s, Dick had produced 36 novels. His life continued to be haunted by difficulties. His mental health appeared to decline, as he was convinced a god-like being kept visiting him with revelations. His drug use continued, andâ€"although his novels were continually being publishedâ€"he seemed unable to collect any royalties for them.
Then in 1980, it happened. Warner Brothers offered Dick a quarter of a million dollars for the film right to his novel BLADE RUNNER (previously titled Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep). Not only would this make him solvent, but the movie would create a bidding war for Dick’s back list(which included the stories TOTAL RECALL, MINORITY REPORT, PAYCHECK, & A SCANNER DARKLY), creating an extremely financially secure future.
Like a bad science fiction story, none of this happened for him. Before Blade Runner was completed filming, Philip K. Dick died from a massive stroke. He was 53.
