E-Reader Big Library Read

Overdrive is sponsoring the "Big Library Read."  For the next two weeks there will be unlimited access for Grosse Pointe patrons to the downloadable e-book Four Corners of the Sky.

Here is more info from their blog:

Today is the rollout of the Big Library Read pilot. This pilot program allows millions of patrons from more than 7,500 participating libraries to simultaneously read Michael Malone’s critically-acclaimed ‘Four Corners of the Sky’ in OverDrive Read, Kindle and EPUB formats. Big Library Read enables users from 10 different countries on five different continents to join in one of the largest global reading events ever to occur. From now until June 1^st, users will be able to log in to their digital library website and check out this wonderful tale about love, secrets and the mysterious bonds only families can form.

During this campaign, we will post discussion questions on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to encourage your staff and patrons to follow us and Michael Malone and be a part of the dialogue. In addition, there will be a worldwide conversation using the hashtag #BigLibraryRead, so tweet your thoughts often. Next week, the book’s publisher, Sourcebooks, will host a live Facebook chat with author Michael Malone, enabling readers to have their questions answered in real time. More details will be coming soon.

If you would like to participate in this chat, please send questions during the week to us on Twitter (@OverDriveLibs) and stay tuned for more information. This program is the first of its kind, so head to your library’s digital collection to check out the title and join the #BigLibraryRead conversation!

Hearing Challenges

Do you have ringing in your ears (tinnitus), miss pieces of conversation or laugh at jokes without hearing a punch line?  Learn more about causes, possible cures and misleading marketing for tinnitus cures and hearing aids from an expert.  Jill Wells, AuD, the Lead Audiologist for St John Hospital and Medical Center, is an experienced clinical audiologist with over 20 years practice in ear, hearing and balance testing. She will give the final talk for this year's GPPL Senior Symposium on Wednesday, May 15.  Refreshments available at 1:30, with program to follow at 2:00 p.m. at the Ewald Branch.  Sign up on the online calendar, or call 313-343-2072.

Rivera's Detroit: the Detroit Industry Murals

 

Diego Rivera considered the Detroit Industry murals the most successful of his career, yet they sparked controversy when installed 80 years ago at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  Scott Boberg, Head of Interpretive Programs with the DIA, will explore the DIA's signature artwork and the stories behind it on Wednesday, May 8 at the Ewald Branch.  This program is part of the library's Senior Symposium series. Light refreshments will be available at 1:30 p.m., followed by the program at 2:00.  There is no charge, but registration is recommended.  Register online or call 313-343-2072.

The Grosse Pointe Public Library and the Wayne County Community College District are joining forces once again to bring an outstanding program to Grosse Pointe.

What is the program? A presentation and panel discussion on Detroit Future City with George W. Jackson, Jr., President and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation;  Dan Kinkead, Director of the Detroit Future City Program Management Office;  and Laura Trudeau, Senior Program Director of the Kresge Foundation.  The panel of experts will be moderated by John Gallagher, Journalist, Author and Architecture and Business Writer at the Detroit Free Press.  His latest book is Revolution Detroit.

What is Detroit Future City? Detroit Future City is a comprehensive strategic framework to help a variety of stakeholders -- community groups, philanthropy, business entities and economic developers, government, investors, and more -- make decisions around a shared vision that improves the quality of life for all.

When?  Tuesday, May 14, 7:30 p.m.

Where?  The Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Farms

The program is free of charge, but seating is limited.   Please reserve a spot by calling the library at 313-343-2074 x222 or register on the library's online calendar.

2013 Senior Symposium

You may not know it by the temperature outside, but the month of May is right around the corner and so is GPPL's Senior Symposium.
May 1:  Jazz historian and collector Stu Johnson will present a musical slide show, A Travelogue in Jazz - the Cities, with stops in Kalamazoo, Paducah, Monterey, New York and more.  Johnson is a member of the Michigan Jazz Record Collectors, with a special interest in Dixieland jazz.  He has been lecturing in Michigan since 2007. 
May 8:  Explore the stories behind Rivera's Detroit:  the Detroit Industry Murals.  This year marks the 80th anniversary of the DIA's signature artwork by Diego Rivera.  Controversial when installed, these are now widely admired and a prime attraction at the museum.
May 15:  Jill Wells, lead audiologist with St. John Hospital and Medical Center, presents Tinnitus & Other Hearing Challenges on May 15. Do you have ringing in your ears (tinnitus), miss pieces of conversation or lugh at jokes without hearing a punch line?  Learn from the expert about causes, possible cures and misleading marketing for tinnitus cures and hearing aids.
All programs will be held at the Ewald Branch.  Light refreshments will be available at 1:30 p.m., followed by the program at 2:00 p.m.  Admission is free of charge, but seating is limited.  Please reserve a seat on the online calendar, or call 313-343-2072.

What We Are Reading Now...

No author evokes working class Boston more than Dennis Lehane. His thoughts on the tragic events of the Boston marathon appear in the New York Times today, in the op-ed piece “Messing with the Wrong City.”
Lehane's books can be taut, suspenseful entertainment, yes, but so much more. The characters are complex and ambiguous and the depiction of Boston seems to come straight from the heart. In the words of critic Pam Lambert, they have "a sense of place as palpable as the pungent tang of garlic in the North End air."
Several of his books have been made into terrific movies as well, including Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone. Lehane's two most recent books are a slight departure in genre and take place in a Boston of the past.  Live by Night is set during Prohibition, and is nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel this year.  It follows The Given Day, in which the Boston Police Strike as well as the Molasses Disaster of 1919 are brought vividly to life. 
All are recommended. 
The library has many of Lehane's books in audio and ebook as well as good old paper. 

National Library Week

Goodies galore are in store next week for National Library Week.

SUNDAY - the RAFFLE begins - all week long you will have the chance to enter once daily to win a gift certificate to Red Crown, the new restaurant in Grosse Pointe Park. 
MONDAY - back by popular demand, FREE COFFEE AND DONUTS DAY at all three branches. 
WEDNESDAY - NO FINES on any overdue item returned this day
THURSDAY - FREE VIDEO BUCK with any dvd rental, one per customer

And that's not all!  Special programs throughout the week include:
Tuesday, 4/16: Teen Poetry Slam @ Ewald, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, 4/16:  Movie Night:  Skyfall @ Woods, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 4/17:  Writing Lives:  a Panel Discussion on Memoirs, Biographies, and Blogs @ Ewald.  Light refreshments at 6:30, program will start at 7:00 p.m.

And that's not all!  While supplies last we have stickers! and pencils!
And we have books, audiobooks, music, dvds, magazines and computers!