New This Week
November 16, 2009
Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby
Two new arrivals this week appear after their author’s deaths. In 1990, Robert Jordan began his Wheel of Time series; a large-scale epic fantasy to be stretched across 12 novels. Jordan died of a rare blood disease in 2007, with only the 11th installment completed. Fortunately, he not only outlined the final book, but he had personally written its final chapter. THE GATHERING STORM has been finished by fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson.
In April of 1942 L.M. Montgomery dropped off the manuscript for THE BLYTHES ARE QUOTEDâ€"her 9th and final installment of her highly revered Anne of Green Gables seriesâ€"at the publishing firm of McClelland & Stewart. Montgomery died within hours of delivering her work, and McClelland and Stewart never published it. But it is here now, andâ€"although darker than rest of the seriesâ€"THE BLYTHES ARE QUOTED is an absolute must read for all Montgomery fans.
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 Hibernation!
To help celebrate Restorative Justice Week, the Library will be presenting a ‘Harassment in the Workplace’ video on Thursday, November 19th, at 7 pm (in the Manual Training Room). Come out and see the Library’s collection of new books and DVDs about Restorative Justice. Snacks included.
The Friends of the Cranbrook Public Library and the College of the Rockies will be showing their latest Travelogue on Monday, November 16, 2009 in the Lecture Theatre (Room 250) at the College. Sylvia Reed will be presenting “Trekking across South America â€" from Quito to Brazil\". Presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. Doors open 6:30 p.m. Admission is by donation, and please remember seating is limited. For more information, please call April at 489-2038.
The Library is partnering with EdwardJones to present three money management workshops for the public taking place in the Manual Training School from 7 to 8:30 pm on the following dates: On Tuesday, Nov. 17: Making Your Money Last: 10 principles for living in retirement.
On Monday, Nov. 23: Parenting Your Parents: financial implications of aging and growing old gracefully. And on Tuesday Dec. 1: How to Raise a Money-Smart Child. While these workshops are free, registration is necessary. Please contact the Library for more information.
Any and all kids ages 9 to 11 (grades 4 to 7) are invited to attend BOOK BITES, a new book club meeting every third Thursday from September to May, beginning at 4 pm. Come out and talk about books, do fun activities, and enjoy some snacks.
And any and all teens are invited to CHATTERZ, their own book club which meets every second Thursday from September to May, beginning at 4 pm. Please note the November session has been moved to Thursday November 26th. For more information on either of these book clubs, please contact Deanne at 426-4063.
The library has a new collection of audiobooks called PLAYAWAYS. These new devices are each loaded with a single popular title. They are about the size of a credit card; small enough to fit in a pocket or purse. You listen to them with headphones and control them with a few simple buttons. This means you don\'t need a computer, a CD player, an MP3 player or any other extra hardware to listen to an audiobook. We have a range of new titles available, including new fiction, old classics, and memoirs. PLAYAWAYS are a wonderful complement to our already extensive audiobook collection.
Please come and check out Lynda Schollen’s impressive Remembrance Day display.
ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:
Your Brain After Chemo â€" Dan Silverman (616.994061)
Exercises for Back Pain â€" William Smith (617.564062)
Design Ideas for baby Rooms (747.77)
Spanish / English Junior Visual Dictionary â€" Jean-Claude Corbeil (463.21)
The 2008 Annotated Customs Act â€" Mohan A. Prabhu (336.26)
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress â€" Rhoda Janzen (bio)
Where Men Win Glory â€" John Krakauer (bio)
I Met The Walrus â€" Jerry Levitan (bio)
The Challenge of Change â€" Don Davies (bio)
The Brightest Star â€" Marian Keyes (fic)
It Can Happen To You â€" Lynn Crymble (fic)
When Autumn Leaves â€" Amy S. Foster (fic)
Bed of Roses â€" Nora Roberts (fic)
Under This Unbroken Sky â€" Shandi Mitchell (fic)
Day After Night â€" Anita Diamant (fic)
The Promised World â€" Lisa Tucker (fic)
Fishing for Stars â€" Bryce Courtenay (fic)
Grave Secret â€" Charlaine Harris (mys)
Merry Merry Ghost â€" Carolyn Hart (mys)
True Blue â€" David Baldacci (mys)
Christmas Promise â€" Anne Perry (mys)
The End of the Road â€" Sue Henry (mys)
Kindred in Death â€" J.D. Robb (mys)
Evidence â€" Jonathan Kellerman (mys)
Rough Country â€" John Sandford (mys)
13 ½ -- Nevada Barr (mys)
Resurrecting Midnight â€" Eric Jerome Dickey (mys)
The Gathering Storm â€" Robert Jordan (sci fic)
The Heart of the Family â€" Annie Groves (pb)
.45-Caliber Firebrand â€" Peter Brandvold (pb)
Frankly My Dear, I’m Dead â€" Livia J. Washburn (pb)
The Edge of Reason â€" Melinda Snodgrass (pb)
Riptide â€" Margaret Carroll (pb)
Dark Love â€" Margaret Carroll (pb)
YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY ACQUIRED ITEMS:
Notes from the Dog â€" Gary Paulsen (ya fic)
City of Fire â€" Laurence Yep (ya fic)
Storm â€" Carrie Mac (ya fic)
United We Stand â€" Eric Walters (ya fic)
The Blythes are Quoted â€" L.M. Montgomery (j fic)
Doomraga’s Revenge â€" T.A. Barron (j fic)
The Magician’s Elephant â€" Kate Dicamillo (j fic)
Trucks â€" Stephen Krensky (j easy)
Marley’s Big Adventure â€" John Grogan (j easy)
Stretch â€" Doreen Cronin (j pic)
The Mitten â€" Jan Brett (j pic)
The Mitten â€" Jim Aylesworth (j pic)
Chaucer’s First Winter â€" Stephen Krensky (j pic)
Auntie Claus Home for the Holidays â€" Elise Primavera (j pic)
Bye-Bye Baby â€" Richard Morris (j pic)
Mary Lou’s New Telescope â€" Don Kelly (j pic)
MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:
One of the most significant and widely read authors of the 20th century was B. Traven. His novelsâ€"such as THE DEATH SHIP and THE WHITE ROSEâ€"have sold over 25 million copies, been translated into 30 different languages, and were burned by the Nazis. His most famous work is THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRE MADRE, which was made into the Oscar-winning Humphrey Bogart film in 1949. His naturalistic style of writing helped Traven cut across racial, political, and generational divides; his work appealing equally to European politicians, Mexican revolutionaries, and the counterculture of the American 60s. Yet all of this literary merit is completely wiped out by one single fact of B. Traven’s life: No one knows who B. Traven is. No one. His identity is the greatest literary mystery of the 20th century.
Beginning with his first novel published in the 1920s, Traven has successfully evaded all efforts to identify him. Refusing to give any personal information to his publishers, the jackets on his books all contain contradictory information about him. Royalty payments were sent to Traven’s agent Hal Croves, who distributed the funds to 27 different clients, all pseudonyms of Traven. (Hal Croves turned out not to exist either). While scholars have definitely nailed down his nationality to be American, Swedish, German, Mexican, British, or Norwegian, his exact birth date continues to elude them. It has been suggested that Traven was just a penname used by another well known author or celebrity, but who? Jack London, Ambrose Pierce, Frans Blom, boxer Arthur Cravan, Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos (or possibly his sister), the illegitimate son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and an escaped slave have all been candidates; none of them helping anybody solve anything.
Hope of solving this mystery peaked in 1990, when 74-year-old Rosa Lujan told the New York Times that she was B. Traven’s widow. While he went by various names, he told her his real identity was Ret Marut, a German politician who’s leftist activities forced him to flee his country. Traven had given Lujan permission to reveal his identity after his death, which was in 1969. All investigations proved Lujan’s story was solid. Finally, the identity of B. Traven was solved.
Or was it? Lujan didn’t meet her husband until the late 1930s, and there is no record of Ret Marut in Germany before this time. Just who was B. Traven before he was Ret Marut?
