New This Week
April 26, 2010
Column: At the Library
From: Cranbrook Public Library
By Mike Selby
The reigning queen of dirt Kitty Kelley tackles her most formidable subject yet with OPRAH: A BIOGRAPHY. Describing Oprah as a person “choked with secrets,” Kelley documents her impoverished childhood, molestation, stint as a prostitute, drug abuse, and whether or not Oprah is gay. Despite the book’s scandalous tone, it is also full of admiration. “Oprah has more focus and drive than anyone I’ve ever written about… she is an important, and even great, figure of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”
Playwright Irene Watts has adapted eight of Robert Munsch’s most popular stories in the collection MUNSCH AT PLAY. These short plays are perfect for children to perform at school, or even the backyard.
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 Colours!
Have you heard about Slam Poetry? Did you see Shane Koyczan’s performance at the Olympic opening ceremonies? Are you curious about this genre? Well, Barbara Adler, one of Canada’s most exciting young performance poets, is coming to Cranbrook on May 1 to host a Slam Poetry workshop and performance.
The workshop will begin at 6 pm and the performance will follow at 8 pm at the Manual Training School beside the Cranbrook Public Library. You can attend one or both, but pre-registration would be appreciated (email khough@cbal.org with your name and Slam as the subject). If you are 18 or under, it’s free! Adults are $3.
Don’t forget to come and see Bob Pearce’s Wilderness paintings, currently on display.
ADULT NEWLY AQUIRED SHELF:
How to Teach Physics to Your Dog " Chad Orzel (530.12)
The Mayo Clinic Diet (613.25)
Frommer’s Vancouver & Victoria 2010 (917.1133)
Frommer’s Scotland (914.11)
Frommer’s Costa Rica 2010 (917.286)
Fodor’s Arizona & the Grand Canyon 2010 (917.9)
Eyewitness Travel: London (914.21)
Eyewitness Travel: California (917.94)
Eyewitness Travel: Caribbean (917.29)
Eyewitness Travel: Germany (914.3)
Frommer’s Greece (914.95)
Lonely Planet: Discover Italy (914.5)
Every Day in Tuscany " Frances Mayes (945.5)
Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right " Joanna Dolgoff (613.2083)
The Male Factor " Shaunti Feldhahn (650.13)
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea " Barbara Demick (951.93)
So Stressed " Stephanie McClellan (155.9042)
How to Change Someone You Love " Brad Lamm (153.85)
Complaint Free Relationships " Will Bowen (158.2)
Newbody Workout for Women " Maureen Hagan (613.71082)
Thrifty " Marjorie Harris (640.73)
China Ghosts " Jeff Gammage (362.734092)
Denise’s Daily Dozen " Denise Austin (613.25)
The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy " Jonny Bowden (618.242)
Green Restorations " Aaron Lubeck (728.0286)
Creative Bird Photography " Bill Coster (778.9328)
Oprah " Kitty Kelley (bio)
The Infinities " John Banville (fic)
Miss Julia Renews Her Vows " Ann B. Ross (fic)
The Barbary Pirates " William Dietrich (fic)
Curiosity " Joan Thomas (fic)
Flirt " Laurell K. Hamilton (fic)
Her Mother’s Hope " Francine Rivers (fic)
Cool Water " Dianne Warren (fic)
Secret Daughter " Shilpi Somaya Gowda (fic)
Secret Whispers " V.C. Andrews (fic)
Wrecked " Carol Higgins Clark (mys)
The Shadow of Your Smile " Mary Higgins Clark (mys)
Aunt Dimity Down Under " Nancy Atherton (mys)
Holly Blues " Susan Wittig Albert (mys)
The Black Cat " Martha Grimes (mys)
Haunt Me Still " Jennifer Lee Carrell (mys)
The Girl Who Played With Fire " Stieg Larsson (pb)
Red Bones " Anne Cleeves (pb)
Boneman’s Daughter " Ted Dekker (pb)
YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN’S NEWLY ACQUIRED ITEMS:
Whispers in Hiding " Kathy Kacer (ya 940.5318)
The Vampire Diaries: The Return, Shadow Souls " L. J. Smith (ya fic)
Sketco The Raven " Robert Ayre (j 398.208997)
Amazing Africa Projects You Can Build Yourself " Carla Mooney (j 960)
50 Burning Questions " Tanya Lloyd Kyi (j 541.36)
Munsch at Play " Irene N. Watts (j 819.26)
Girl in the Know " Anne Katz (j 613)
Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day " Jane O’Connor (j easy)
Little Cloud and Lady Wind " Toni Morrison (j pic)
Slow Down for Manatees " Jim Arnosky (j pic)
MIKE’S BOOKNOTES:
“This may well be the worst book I have ever read,” was the opinion of the Washington Post’s chief book reviewer in 1979. He wasn’t alone. His colleagues stated the book was “unbelievable and indigestible,” “badly written…repulsive,” and a “horrible story, so dark, so tense, so wrong. Everything about it is wrong.” The book which incensed these critics was FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, written by V.C. Andrews. It is the story of a greedy mother who locks her four children in the attic of a mansion, hoping to hide their existence from her dying father, thus guaranteeing her massive inheritance. It is a creepy book, full of gruesome twists and generations of incest. And while most critics hated it, most readers loved it. It spent 15 weeks in the New York Times bestseller list, selling over 3 million copies. To date, it"along with the series it inspired"has sold over 85 million copies. Not bad for a “badly written” book.
Virginia Cleo Andrews was born in 1923 in Virginia. She was an excellent student, and dreamed of being a film actress. Overly excited at attending her first drama class in high school, Andrews tripped down a flight of stairs, severely snapping her spinal cord. She spent the rest of her high school years on crutches, until experimental surgery on her spine backfired, ensuring she would never walk again.
Andrews never felt sorry for herself, and used her mind to pursue a living. She had an excellent career as a commercial artist and fashion designer. She also wrote numerous ‘confession’ stories as well, but none were deemed suitable for publication. All that changed when she turned 56, and submitted the manuscript for FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC to Pocket Books. Andrews states she wrote “all the unspeakable things my mother didn’t want me to write about.” The success of the book prompted Andrews to write four sequels, and the beginning of a new series. It should be noted that the only way she could write was to stand at a desk, painfully supported by crutches and family members. By 1985, Andrews was outselling Stephen King.
Sadly, her crippling injuries and an attack of breast cancer took her life in 1986. Before she died, Andrews wrote outlines for 63 more books. Her estate directed these to be used by a ghost-writer, and that is why V.C. Andrews has had over 50 books published since her death.
One of the most persistent rumours about FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC is that it is based on a true story. Most felt this was just an urban legend, especially since Pocket Books always denied the possibility of it being true. They may have to rethink their stance. In 2009, someone stumbled across Andrew’s original ‘pitch’ letter which accompanied her original manuscript. In it, she calls her story “a fictionalized version of a true story.” Once the letter was made public, a relative told a reporter that yes, it is indeed true. A doctor who treated her at the University of Virginia hospital had told her about being locked away in an attic with his siblings in order to secure the family wealth.
FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC was adapted for the big screen in 1987. While she didn’t live to see the final cut, V.C. Andrews appears in a nonspeaking part of a window scrubbing maid. She became a film actress after all.
