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New This Week

March 15, 2010

Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby




Fernie’s Jon Turk�"noted scientist and kayak adventurer�"found himself washed up on shore after a freak storm toppled his kayak in Siberia. He is rescued by an elderly Koryak shaman, who invokes the Spirit Raven to heal Turk’s fractured pelvis. After the ritual, Turk found himself able to walk without pain. THE GIFT OF THE RAVEN is Turk’s account of this incident, as well as the struggle of a scientist trying to get his mind around spiritual healing.
Teen reader should enjoy Judy Blundell’s WHAT IS SAW AND HOW LIED, last year’s winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. After returning from World War II, 15-year-old Evie’s stepfather moves her whole family to an abandon town in Florida. Wondering why they had to suddenly move so far, Evie discovers the truth is far worse than she could have imagined.

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 St. Patrick’s Day!
The Friends of the Cranbrook Public Library and the College of the Rockies will be showing their latest Travelogue on Monday, March 22, 2010 in the Lecture Theatre (Room 250) at the College. A Cranbrook Pilgrim on the El Camino -The ruins of Saint Anthony’s Convent on the El Camino Santiago between Burgos and Leon in the Meseta (plateau). 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 Sheila at 489-8207.

Don’t forget to come and see amazing woodwork of Barry Holmberg, currently on display.


ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:

The Heart Does Break �" George Bowering (155.937)
Attila the Hun �" Christopher Kelly (936.03092)
Too Big To Fall �" Andrew Ross Sorkin (330.973)
Wild Horses of the World �" Moira C. Harris (599.6655)
How Remarkable Women Lead �" Joanna Barsh (658.4092)
Succulent Container Gardens �" Debra Lee Baldwin (635.9525)
Bicycling the Pacific Coast �" Vicky Spring (796.640979)
The Blood of Lambs �" Kamal Saleem (303.625)
Blackberry Planet �" Alastair Sweeny (338.761004167)
The Dream Dictionary from A to Z �" Theresa Cheung (135.303)
Red Letters �" Tom Davis (253)
Earn Spend Save �" Kira Vermond (332.0240082)
Crohns Disease and Ulcerative Colitis �" Fred Saibil (616.344)
50 Best College Majors for a Secure Future �" Laurence Shatkin (378.241)
The Happy Intercessor �" Beni Johnson (248.4)
Grooming Horses �" Jessie Shiers (636.10833)
New Job New You �" Alexandra Levit (650.14)
Raw Energy �" Stephanie Tourles (641.563)
Preparing Your Income Tax Returns 2010 �" Michael G. Mallin (336.24)
Equine Fitness �" Jec Aristotle Ballou (636.10893)
Top Notch Executive Resumes �" Katharine Hansen (650.142)
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible �" Edward C. Smith (635)
Garden Design �" Chris Young (712.6)
The Raven’s Gift �" Jon Turk (bio)
Last Words �" George Carlin (bio)
Toby: A Man �" Todd Babiak (fic)
Shadow Prowler �" Alexey Pehov (sci fic)
Bones of Betrayal �" Jefferson Bass (pb)
Fire and Sword �" Simon Scarrow (pb)
Thunder of Eagles �" William W. Johnstone (pb)
The Diva Takes the Cake �" Krista Davis (pb)
Smooth Talking Stranger �" Lisa Kleypas (pb)
The Moon Looked Down �" Dorothy Garlock (pb)
The Minotaur’s Island (DVD)
Ancient Egypt Unearthed (DVD)
The Napoleon Collection (DVD)
Galaxy Quest (DVD)
Memoirs of a Geisha (DVD)
A Haunting In Connecticut (DVD)
Autism the Musical (DVD)
Bringing Baby Home (DVD)
Dance and Be Fit (DVD)
World War 1: The Great War Complete Series (DVD)



YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY ACQUIRED ITEMS:
Ink Exchange �" Melissa Marr (ya fic)
Fragile Eternity �" Melissa Marr (ya fic)
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy �" Ally Carter (ya fic)
What I Saw and How I Lied �" Judy Blundell (ya fic)
Sharp North �" Patrick Cave (ya fic)
Strange Angles �" Lili St. Crow (ya fic)
The Lost Books 1 to 4 �" Ted Dekker (ya fic)
Spiked Scorpions & Walking Whales �" Claire Eamer (j 591.38)
The Coliseum Con �" Geronimo Stilton (j fic)
Mia, Matt and the Pigs that Sing �" Annie Langlois (j fic)
The Unwashed Dragon �" Marc Archambault (j pic)
The Spoon in the Stone (VeggieTales) �" Doug Peterson (j pic)
Lost in Place (VeggieTales) �" Cindy Kenney (j pic)
There Was an Old Man Who Painted the Sky �" Teri Sloat (j pic)
Where’s Spot �" Eric Hill (j pic)
Yoga by the Dozen (j DVD)
Diego Underwater Mystery (j DVD)


MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:

On March 25th, 1931, nine African-American teenagers were accused of raping two white women, just outside the town of Scottsboro, Alabama. Without adequate representation or a jury of their peers, they were quickly convicted and sentenced to death. Completely innocent of the crime, the defendants’ spent 20 years in numerous appeals, retrials, and legal battles. This horrific ordeal shattered the lives of all those involved, even though their convictions were eventually reversed. This severe tragedy resonated throughout the American South; causing landmark decisions in the United States Supreme Court.

In a small town just south of Scottsboro, Amasa Coleman Lee�"a criminal defense lawyer�"railed against the social injustice of this case to his 5-year-old daughter and her friend, a young boy who lived next door. Lee had previously defended two wrongfully accused African-American men of murder, only to lost the case and watch his clients hang. While both children were deeply affected by these cases, Lee’s daughter�"Nelle Harper�"felt it on a more personal level. When she turned 34, she wrote a novel about the case, her father, the neighbor boy, and herself. She called it TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

Born in 1926, Harper Lee was raised in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama. The youngest of four children, Lee was a consummate tomboy. She was in many fights in school, as her best friend and neighbor was weak and effeminate; not a great combination for the rural South (his name was Truman Capote). Lee went on to study law, but soon quit and�"after a series of menial jobs�"joined Capote in New York. She then accompanied him to, Kansas, where he is researching a story about the murders of a wealthy family. While engaged in all types of secretarial work for Capote, she also works on her own book; finishing years before Capote would finish his IN COLD BLOOD.

In 1960, the J.B. Lippincott Company published TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. It is an instant and critical success, with Lee winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. It has never been out of print, sold over 30 million copies, and�"despite being forced to read it in school�"continues to be a favorite of students all over the world.

And that was it from Harper Lee. She never wrote another book. She stopped giving interviews, and quietly retreated from the public view. Yet she hasn’t been completely reclusive. Unbeknownst to the world press, for years Lee attends and speaks at an Alabama high school essay writing contest.

In 2007, at age 81, Lee received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush. Bush commented that Lee has a kind and wise heart, and that her book “has influenced the character of our country for the better. It’s been a gift to the entire world.”