Spokane Public Library Blog

Audio, Music, & Movies!

2009 Indies Choice Book Awards include lighthearted categories

April 21, 2009 – 8:39 am

Most engaging author was won by SHERMAN ALEXIE. No surprise to anyone who has heard him speak!

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) announced the winners of the inaugural Indies Choice Book Awards. Formerly the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards, the new Indies Choice Book Awards reflect the spirit of independent bookstores nationwide through new categories and a broader range of winners and honor books. Audiobook copies of the 2009 Indies Choice Book Award Winners available at Spokane Public Library include:

Best Indie Buzz Book (Fiction):

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Fiery Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction):

The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell. Read by Sarah Vowell, with celebrity guests.

Best Author Discovery:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. Read by Richard Poe.





Most Engaging Author:

Sherman Alexie

 

 

Other Indie Buzz Honor Book recipients include:

Best  Book (Fiction) Honor Books

 
City of Thieves, by David Benioff. Read by Ron Perlman.

The Given Day, by Dennis Lehane. Read by Michael Boatman.

 

 

 

People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. Read by Edwina Wren and [Downloadable audio] version

 

 


Best Conversation Starter (Nonfiction) Honor Books:


A Memoir
Hurry Down Sunshine: A Memoir, written and read by Michael Greenberg


What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel. Read by Ray Porter.[Downloadable audio]


Grammy awards given for audiobooks too!

April 21, 2009 – 8:14 am

Spoken word Grammy winners

The titles below were nominated for Spoken Word Grammy award and the 2009 winner is in BOLD below.

CHILDREN: Best Spoken Word Album  (For albums consisting of predominantly spoken word vs. music or song.)

Around The Campfire
Buck Howdy With BB
[Prairie Dog Entertainment]

The Big One-Oh
Dean Pitchford
[Random House Audio/Listening Library]

Brown Bear And Friends
Gwyneth Paltrow
[Macmillan Audio]

The Cricket In Times Square
Tony Shalhoub
[Macmillan Audio]

Yes To Running! Bill Harley Live
Bill Harley
[Round River Records]

ADULT: Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)

An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore)
Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon & Blair Underwood
[Simon & Schuster Audio]

Born Standing Up
Steve Martin
[Simon & Schuster Audio]

I Am America (And So Can You!)
Stephen Colbert (& Various Artists)
[Hachette Audio]

Life Beyond Measure
Sidney Poitier
[HarperAudio]

When You Are Engulfed In Flames
David Sedaris
[Hachette Audio]


DOWNLOADABLE AUDIOBOOKS are now available at Spokane Public Library

March 23, 2009 – 3:50 pm

In March, 2009, the most downloaded non-fiction audiobook in libraries nationally was. . . .  DRUM-ROLL, please. . . .

Twenty-five things to say to the interviewer, to get the job you want by Dexter Hawk.  25-things.jpg

This is one of the many non-fiction books now available to download from Spokane Public Library.  New downloadable audiobooks will be added each month.  [Be aware that before you can download a book, you must establish a free NetLibrary account.] Our eAudiobook subscription, with Blackstone Audio in Oregon, provides a broad range of popular fiction, biographies and classics, like Little Women and One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

esmethumbnail.jpg

Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell

Moving between the 1930s and the present, O’Farrell’s novel is an unforgettable portrait of a woman edited out of her family’s history. The heartbreaking tale of two sisters in colonial India and Edinburgh bound together by loneliness and driven apart by rivalries that lead to a cruel betrayal, it is also the gripping story of how, 60 years later, their shocking secret comes to light.

The Nightingale’s Song by Robert Timberg

Timberg weaves together the lives of Annapolis graduates John McCain, James Webb, Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter to reveal how the Vietnam War continues to haunt America. Casting all five men as metaphors for a legion of well-meaning if ill-starred warriors, the author probes the fault line between those who fought the war and those who used money, wit, and connections to avoid battle.

Quantum of solaceQuantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories  by Ian Fleming

A collection of secret agent James Bond stories, including From a view to a kill, For your eyes only, Quantum of solace, Risico, The Hildebrand rarity, Octopussy, The property of a lady, The living daylights and 700 in New York.

Die for Love by Elizabeth Peters

A librarian takes a trip to the convention of the Historical Romance Writers of the World, and when one of the attendees turns up dead and another is being threatened she becomes involved.

Traitor by Ralph Peters

“As powerful men in Washington lean hard on Congress to approve funding for the Next-Generation Fighter Bomber-a controversial ‘miracle’ war machine with a $300 billion price tag-a savage terror bombing levels an aircraft research facility in France. The loss of lives is staggering-and retribution begins even before the guilty are clearly identified. While murder haunts the halls of power, Lt. Col. John Reynolds struggles to remain an honorable man and a loyal soldier. “–Publisher’s web site.

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

“When Orwell went to the north of England in the thirties to find out how industrial workers lived, he not only observed but shared in their experience.  .  .  . In his searing yet beautiful account of life on the bottom rung, Orwell asks himself why socialism, which alone, he felt, could conserve human values from the ravages of industrialism, had so little appeal. His answer was a harsh critique of the socialism and socialists of his time. “–Publisher’s web site.

The Art of Political War and Other Radical Pursuits by David Horowitz

“Politics is war; but in America, one side is doing all the shooting, the liberals. Shell-shocked conservatives blame their failures on the media or on unscrupulous opponents, but they refuse to name the real culprit: themselves.”
Using the library’s online catalog, do a keyword search for the term “downloadable audio” for a current list of titles.


Letters from Lincoln composed by Michael Daugherty

March 16, 2009 – 10:04 am

Michael Daugherty
Letters from Lincoln (2009)
for Baritone and Orchestra
(in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth)
Commissioned by the Spokane Symphony and funded by the Bruce Ferden Endowment Fund for New Music

This serious work was performed by the Spokane Symphony in March, 2009.  The complete text can be found at  http://www.spokanesymphony.org/zlcms/editor/uploads/files/Letters%20From%20Lincoln%20Text.pdf

A light-hearted excerpt is from Lincoln’s autobiography: Abraham Lincoln is My Name (1824-26, Indiana)
Abraham Lincoln is my name
And with my pen I wrote the same
I wrote in both haste and speed
And left it here for fools to read
Abraham Lincoln his hand and pen
He will be good but God knows when
Swift as an Indian arrow
Fly like a shooting star
If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?

The library WILL acquire copies of this as soon as the music is released on CD.


Thoughts on the digital age

February 5, 2009 – 8:49 am

I’m an aging librarian who once worked for a book publisher; now I watch the current waves in publishing and wonder how any business model will enable publishers to stay afloat.   A new acquaintance who works for the city shared her interest in a recent Time Magazine article and the issue of self-published authors.

When I went to library school, self-publishing was generally interpreted to mean that one’s work wasn’t good enough or of interest to a broad enough range of readers for any publisher to buy the rights. Now, as the Time article linked below reveals, it is such a risky time for mainstream publishers to take on new material, we are quite likely to see much much more self-publishing of great material like Still Alice.

With Sony ebook Readers, pod-casts and blogs, print and non-print formats are blurring daily and information is less and less distinguishable by format alone. As an audiovisual librarian I find this intriguing, but philosophically I wonder about our culture, the reader and the ability to identify balanced points of view on wide-ranging topics.  Hmmm.  “May we live in interesting times. . . .”  What are YOUR thoughts?

Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature

By Lev Grossman,  Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, Time Magazine

A Sony 'Reader'

Chris Jackson / Getty

ENLARGE +


Must see DVDs

December 23, 2008 – 1:54 pm

Documentary and instructional films on DVD cover a stellar range of topics now.  A few of broad interest in our adult collection include:Bush’s brain

Bush’s brain [2004] Karl Rove, the man known as “Bush’s Brain”, is the most powerful political figure America has never heard of, the brain behind the curtain of today’s presidential politics. He is President George W. Bush’s closest advisor, who almost single-handedly shaped the policies of our nation. The relationship between Karl Rove and President George W. Bush is one of the most unique political marriages in history.

What the bleep do we know [2006] Amanda, a divorced photographer, finds herself bored and uninspired by everyday events. Suddenly, she envisions herself in a fantasy world with strange creatures and quirky representations of real-life subcellular particles. Interjected by discussions with mystics and scientists, she questions what reality is and searches for a redefinition of her perception of life. Explores the links between quantum mechanics, neurobiology, human consciousness, and day-to-day reality.

Fog of war [2004] The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara. McNamara was one of the most controversial and influential political figures of the 20th century.

The corporation [2005] The Corporation charts the spectacular rise of the corporation as a dramatic, pervasive presence in our everyday lives. With a deft mix of humor, visual panache and seriousness, this documentary is a timely, entertaining critique of global conglomerates.

Young at heart [2008] Young at Heart Chorus is based in Northampton, MA. See the final weeks of rehearsal for the group, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs that range from James Brown to Coldplay.

Darfur now [2008]  Follows the stories of six individuals committed to end the sufferings in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur.

Two riversTwo rivers [2005] This documentary about a group of whites and Native Americans in the Methow Valley of Washington that began meeting to discover why relationships between these groups were unknown outside of courtrooms. Film looks at the radical differences between the cultures and how Indian schools have affected Native families.

Rape of Europa [2008] Imagine the world without our masterpieces. Interviews with eyewitnesses and historians and newsreel footage show how heroic Europeans, Russians, and Americans worked to save the art of Europe during World War II.

Shine a light [2008]  Martin Scorsee’s close up of The Rolling Stones in concert and off stageShine a light!

Sustainable table [2006] “… takes an unadulterated look into the food you eat. What’s on your place? Where does it come from? What effects does it have on the environment and your body? What can you do to help?”

Green is the color of money [2006] In Boise, Idaho, local developer Gary Christensen and his team used a new approach to design the Banner Bank Building as an energy efficient building that earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED CS platinum rating for the same cost as standard construction.


The White Album: 40 years later

November 26, 2008 – 10:42 am

 Do you remember the attention and uproar when the Beatles released the White album?  I do.

National Public Radio revisited the frenzy earlier this week.  All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Bruce Spizer, author of The Beatles On Apple Records, about the groundbreaking White Album and how it came to be.John, Paul, George and Ringo

Take a look and a listen at National Public Radio’s website.

Reserve the album from our collection from this link:  The White Album.

New copies on compact disc have been received recently.


President-elect Obama resources

November 19, 2008 – 9:30 am

Barack Obama Information abounds on our future president.  Take a look or listen:

Barack Obama [DVD ]

The audacity of hope: thoughts on reclaiming the American dream    [compact disc, abridged]  OR  print

Dreams from my father: a story of race and inheritance [compact disc, unabridged]  or print

Criticism includes Obama nation: leftist politics and the cult of personality, by Jerome R. Corsi  [compact disc, abridged] or print

His biography on Wikipedia is also handy at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

No pictures yet of the dog promised to his daughters.  Perhaps after Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2009.


Don’t miss the feature documentary, RAPE OF EUROPA

October 13, 2008 – 1:00 pm

“The Rape of Europa” uses interviews with eyewitnesses and historians and newsreel footage to show how heroic

Europeans, Russians, and Americans worked to save the art of Europe during WWII.The rape of Europa

THE RAPE OF EUROPA is a feature documentary that takes the audience on an epic journey through seven countries and into a violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back, mounting a miraculous campaign that would rescue and return the millions of art works displaced by the war. Joan Allen narrates this chronicle about the battle over the very survival of centuries of western culture. [Written by Actual Films.]

Although this documentary recently was showing in Spokane theatres, it has just been recently on dvd and is available to be reserved.

Please don’t miss it just because it is shelved with other nonfiction DVDS, under the classification number of 364.162.


Time to revisit Newman’s film odyssey

September 29, 2008 – 8:46 am

As we mourn and hear about Paul Newman’s extraordinary generosity and sense of ‘good luck’ with his acting, let’s watch a sampling of his classic performances:                                                                                                                                                                                             Paul Newman

The Color of money

The Sting

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Cool hand Luke

Hud

Empire Falls

Paul Newman’s obituary, Roger Ebert style


City of Spokane

POLICIES | ENTRIES (RSS) | COMMENTS (RSS)

Spokane Public Library • 906 W. Main Spokane, WA 99201 • 509.444.5300

© 2007 SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY