Thursday, September 28, 2006
Blog Review: Neil Gaiman's Journal
When I brought up the idea of the Good Read’s blog to the Library Board, they had the funny idea that, since they were largely unfamiliar with the blog world, I should review blogs.
Because I want to keep the Good Reads blog mostly about… well, good reads, I thought I would review other blogs about books.
Neil Gaiman has been a favorite author of mine ever since he wrote The Sandman, a series of Graphic Novels about the King of Dreams. He’s written several best selling novels, too. Famously Neverwhere and American Gods, and recently Anansi Boys.
He writes a blog, too. For me, a blog is only really interesting if it’s something I want to go back to again and again. Neil’s blog is that for a couple of reasons.
He updates it frequently, first of all. It’s never good to go to a blog and find it unchanged week after week.
He’s got a nice voice: casual and funny, rarely peevish, but always forthright. He writes in his blog a lot like he sounds in person.
Lastly, he’s involved in the science fiction and fantasy communities, the fan communities. He talks about other authors, and reads them. So sometimes, you find out bits of information that you really should know.
You also get a review for a really good book every once in awhile though, long before it gets published. Or sometimes, when he’s remembering books that he loved as a kid, long after. And then they get republished.
For those who really like to meet their authors, it’s also sort of a way to meet this author. He blogs candidly but tastefully about his life and the issues that interest him, like freedom of speech causes.
And because it’s updated by Neil, it’s a trove of Neil Gaiman lore, like when which novel will be released, and what’s going on over at the Stardust movie set.
For anybody interested in SF/Fantasy, comics, or movies, it’s good for at least an occasional read. For Gaiman fans, its especially good. Definitely add it to your Feedster list.
Because I want to keep the Good Reads blog mostly about… well, good reads, I thought I would review other blogs about books.
Neil Gaiman has been a favorite author of mine ever since he wrote The Sandman, a series of Graphic Novels about the King of Dreams. He’s written several best selling novels, too. Famously Neverwhere and American Gods, and recently Anansi Boys.
He writes a blog, too. For me, a blog is only really interesting if it’s something I want to go back to again and again. Neil’s blog is that for a couple of reasons.
He updates it frequently, first of all. It’s never good to go to a blog and find it unchanged week after week.
He’s got a nice voice: casual and funny, rarely peevish, but always forthright. He writes in his blog a lot like he sounds in person.
Lastly, he’s involved in the science fiction and fantasy communities, the fan communities. He talks about other authors, and reads them. So sometimes, you find out bits of information that you really should know.
You also get a review for a really good book every once in awhile though, long before it gets published. Or sometimes, when he’s remembering books that he loved as a kid, long after. And then they get republished.
For those who really like to meet their authors, it’s also sort of a way to meet this author. He blogs candidly but tastefully about his life and the issues that interest him, like freedom of speech causes.
And because it’s updated by Neil, it’s a trove of Neil Gaiman lore, like when which novel will be released, and what’s going on over at the Stardust movie set.
For anybody interested in SF/Fantasy, comics, or movies, it’s good for at least an occasional read. For Gaiman fans, its especially good. Definitely add it to your Feedster list.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Chasing the Dead
by Joe Schreiber
rev. by Lawrence Kapture
Chasing the dead is a thriller by Joe Schreiber. It’s a short, well crafted read, with more than a few hints of Stephen King.
Susan is an ex-ambulance driver who has come into her husband Phillip’s real estate empire after he abandoned her and their infant daughter for Florida. Sue is heading home from work when she gets a phone call from a stranger.
“You have a very lovely little girl, Susan.”
As the conversation continues, Sue finds out that her daughter and nanny have been kidnapped, that the kidnapper has been in her house, and in fact seems to know quite a bit about her life. The unidentified caller tells her that as long as she does everything he asks her tonight, she’ll see her daughter again.
Otherwise, she’ll just see pieces of her daughter again.
So begins the chase: Sue is given a route through seven beat up Massachusetts towns to follow, must dig up a secret that she and Phillip had hidden for 20 years. How does her secret connect her and her daughter’s abductor? And why such a crazy route between towns? And where exactly is Phillip, anyways?
Full of twists and turns, Chasing the Dead will keep you engaged with creepy set scenes and an urgent pace. It’s so twisty that the feeling of the story changes throughout: at first, it seems like a taut psychological thriller. Only gradually does the specter of something darker express itself.
Chasing the dead is an engaging, controlled read by local talent: he graduated from Portage Northern. And as an extra bonus, Mr. Schreiber will be reading and speaking at the library on Saturday, October 14th, from 1 PM to 3 PM.
rev. by Lawrence Kapture
Chasing the dead is a thriller by Joe Schreiber. It’s a short, well crafted read, with more than a few hints of Stephen King.
Susan is an ex-ambulance driver who has come into her husband Phillip’s real estate empire after he abandoned her and their infant daughter for Florida. Sue is heading home from work when she gets a phone call from a stranger.
“You have a very lovely little girl, Susan.”
As the conversation continues, Sue finds out that her daughter and nanny have been kidnapped, that the kidnapper has been in her house, and in fact seems to know quite a bit about her life. The unidentified caller tells her that as long as she does everything he asks her tonight, she’ll see her daughter again.
Otherwise, she’ll just see pieces of her daughter again.
So begins the chase: Sue is given a route through seven beat up Massachusetts towns to follow, must dig up a secret that she and Phillip had hidden for 20 years. How does her secret connect her and her daughter’s abductor? And why such a crazy route between towns? And where exactly is Phillip, anyways?
Full of twists and turns, Chasing the Dead will keep you engaged with creepy set scenes and an urgent pace. It’s so twisty that the feeling of the story changes throughout: at first, it seems like a taut psychological thriller. Only gradually does the specter of something darker express itself.
Chasing the dead is an engaging, controlled read by local talent: he graduated from Portage Northern. And as an extra bonus, Mr. Schreiber will be reading and speaking at the library on Saturday, October 14th, from 1 PM to 3 PM.
Friday, September 22, 2006
New downloadable audio books and ebooks at the library
If you go to ebooks.mlcnet.org/, or click the Audio Book Download link on the Good Reads section of our web page, you will be taken to the web page of the Michigan Library Consortium's Digital Catalog and Download Center.
This doesn't sound exciting, but if you scroll down the page, you'll see why it is. Portage Library is part of a group of libraries that buy downloadable audio books and ebooks together.
That's exciting!
You can use this link to download audio books and ebooks at home for your device that plays MP3's (not an iPod, though. Steve Jobs is being stingy about letting anybody but iTunes use his file format).
When we started getting this for the library, I thought most of our users would be interested in audio books, but nearly half our downloads are for ebooks.
All of this is by way of saying that I was looking at the page today, and saw some great new ebook titles that I thought I'd share on the blog.
There are some always available titles, children's titles, and a bunch of best selling authors available to download. You'll have to put some of the titles on reserve, but once you have them, you've got four weeks to listen to them.
Audio Books:
The Burglar on the Prowl, by Lawrence Block
Emma, by Jane Austen
Some Like it Haute, by Julie Dam
The Tender Years, by Janette Oke
Ebooks:
Practical Demonkeeping, by Christopher Moore
The Book of the Dead, by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston
Borrower of the Night, by Elizabeth Peters
Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep it Going, Build Networking Skills – and Leave a Positive Impression! by Debra Fine
This doesn't sound exciting, but if you scroll down the page, you'll see why it is. Portage Library is part of a group of libraries that buy downloadable audio books and ebooks together.
That's exciting!
You can use this link to download audio books and ebooks at home for your device that plays MP3's (not an iPod, though. Steve Jobs is being stingy about letting anybody but iTunes use his file format).
When we started getting this for the library, I thought most of our users would be interested in audio books, but nearly half our downloads are for ebooks.
All of this is by way of saying that I was looking at the page today, and saw some great new ebook titles that I thought I'd share on the blog.
There are some always available titles, children's titles, and a bunch of best selling authors available to download. You'll have to put some of the titles on reserve, but once you have them, you've got four weeks to listen to them.
Audio Books:
The Burglar on the Prowl, by Lawrence Block
Emma, by Jane Austen
Some Like it Haute, by Julie Dam
The Tender Years, by Janette OkeEbooks:
Practical Demonkeeping, by Christopher Moore 
The Book of the Dead, by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston
Borrower of the Night, by Elizabeth Peters
Small Talk: How to Start a Conversation, Keep it Going, Build Networking Skills – and Leave a Positive Impression! by Debra FineMonday, September 18, 2006
Declare
by Tim Powers
rev. by L. Kapture
In Declare, Time Powers mixes a spy novel with middle eastern folklore and comes up with a winning historical fantasy about Genies and Immortality, and Spies and Communism, The Berlin Wall and Baptism, and Foxes with Ghosts in them.
Kim Philby, the antagonist of Declare, is the historical curiosity of the novel. A real person, Philby spied for the British between 1940 and 1963, when it was revealed that he had been counterspying for the Soviets the entire time. Declare paints an interesting portrait of this non-fictional individual and exploits the most curious parts of his real life. Powers' afterword reveals that Philby did indeed own a fox that smoked cigars and drank whisky. After reading Declare, you might be drawn to read the many biographies and histories written about Philby the spy.
Andrew Hale, the protagonist, seems just as real. A British spy, he carries an unrequited lust for a communist spy that he met in Paris. Hale is intriguing, a man whose emotions are hampered by his conflicting loyalties. Declare is mostly Hale's story, and at some point it becomes clear that the title refers to Andrew Hale's over-arching decisions: He must decide between, and declare his intentions towards, his emotional loyalties, his spiritual loyalties, and his patriotic loyalties.
Declare is powerful reading, pun intended. It is easily one of his more complex, and engaging novels, one of a long chain of curiously evocative historical fantasies. Tim Powers knows how to draw out a mystery. The troubles of his quietly passionate characters engage the reader. The immense scope of Declare, encompassing both history and wonder, human frailty and other-worldly immensity, will interest everyone who cares about the human spirit.
rev. by L. Kapture
In Declare, Time Powers mixes a spy novel with middle eastern folklore and comes up with a winning historical fantasy about Genies and Immortality, and Spies and Communism, The Berlin Wall and Baptism, and Foxes with Ghosts in them.
Kim Philby, the antagonist of Declare, is the historical curiosity of the novel. A real person, Philby spied for the British between 1940 and 1963, when it was revealed that he had been counterspying for the Soviets the entire time. Declare paints an interesting portrait of this non-fictional individual and exploits the most curious parts of his real life. Powers' afterword reveals that Philby did indeed own a fox that smoked cigars and drank whisky. After reading Declare, you might be drawn to read the many biographies and histories written about Philby the spy.
Andrew Hale, the protagonist, seems just as real. A British spy, he carries an unrequited lust for a communist spy that he met in Paris. Hale is intriguing, a man whose emotions are hampered by his conflicting loyalties. Declare is mostly Hale's story, and at some point it becomes clear that the title refers to Andrew Hale's over-arching decisions: He must decide between, and declare his intentions towards, his emotional loyalties, his spiritual loyalties, and his patriotic loyalties.
Declare is powerful reading, pun intended. It is easily one of his more complex, and engaging novels, one of a long chain of curiously evocative historical fantasies. Tim Powers knows how to draw out a mystery. The troubles of his quietly passionate characters engage the reader. The immense scope of Declare, encompassing both history and wonder, human frailty and other-worldly immensity, will interest everyone who cares about the human spirit.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Where to find book discussion questions
Week after next is our library’s discussion of My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. Because I’m running the discussion, I went looking for questions.
Book discussion groups have become so popular over the last few years that it’s a lot easier to find pages with questions. When I was running book discussion groups in New York, I really had to struggle. I often had to make up my own questions (gasp!). These days, every time I do a book discussion I google book title and book discussion and get more hits that the time before.
This time, I found four sites that looked useful, three of which would probably be generally useful when looking for book discussion questions:
Readinggroupguides.com
Bookbrowse.com (questions were the same as readinggroupguides… I don’t know if that would be true for every title)
About.com (look under Entertainment>Bestsellers>Book Club Questions. The like takes you directly to that page).
The author’s own web site (jodipicoult.com, in this case)
You can find other information on those pages, too: synopsis, newsletters, sample chapters, even links to podcasts and newsgroups. Lots of ways to help you evaluate a book before you read it, of find out what other people think about the story you just read.
One of the websites alludes to the small danger of these pages though… they often allude to things that happen in the story. In the parlance of the internet, this is known as a “spoiler.” If you don’t like people telling what happens next in a book (I hate it!), don’t read one of these pages until you finish.
Book discussion groups have become so popular over the last few years that it’s a lot easier to find pages with questions. When I was running book discussion groups in New York, I really had to struggle. I often had to make up my own questions (gasp!). These days, every time I do a book discussion I google book title and book discussion and get more hits that the time before.
This time, I found four sites that looked useful, three of which would probably be generally useful when looking for book discussion questions:
Readinggroupguides.com
Bookbrowse.com (questions were the same as readinggroupguides… I don’t know if that would be true for every title)
About.com (look under Entertainment>Bestsellers>Book Club Questions. The like takes you directly to that page).
The author’s own web site (jodipicoult.com, in this case)
You can find other information on those pages, too: synopsis, newsletters, sample chapters, even links to podcasts and newsgroups. Lots of ways to help you evaluate a book before you read it, of find out what other people think about the story you just read.
One of the websites alludes to the small danger of these pages though… they often allude to things that happen in the story. In the parlance of the internet, this is known as a “spoiler.” If you don’t like people telling what happens next in a book (I hate it!), don’t read one of these pages until you finish.
Monday, September 11, 2006
My Sister’s Keeper
By Jodi Picoult
Rev. by L. Kapture
My Sister’s Keeper is about Anna and Kate’s relationship. Kate was born with a vicious form of leukemia. Anna was conceived with this in mind: her parents planned on using her umbilical cord for transplant material. Which works well, and adds to their family.
But over the years, Anna’s status as a perfect donor for Kate means that every time Kate relapses, Anna is volunteered: white blood cells, bone marrow. Now Kate is 16, and her kidneys are failing from sixteen years of treatment. Anna, of course, has a kidney to spare.
Now she has a lawyer, too. Because she is asking the court to be freed of her responsibility to donate that kidney.
I read My Sister’s Keeper for the book discussion group that we are having later this month. This isn’t my usual genre, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The characters are very engaging. Picoult tells the story from all of their perspectives, in alternating chapters. Picoult makes strong statements about grief, and family, and love, and how these three elemental substances interact. Jesse, Kate’s older brother, is a charming hooligan, and the method behind his hooliganism is tied strongly into his family’s (and his own) response to Kate’s illness.
Picoult never passes up a chance to add more tension to an already tense situation, possibly unnecessarily: who needs romantic lawyer tension when Anna is making a decision that could possibly kill her sister, who she loves, who is her only friend. At times, the plot begins to feel a little soapy. But then, it does keep you turning pages.
My Sister’s Keeper is not a feel good book, but it is a good book, and a feeling read. If you like legal thrillers, romance, or medical thrillers, this book will probably appeal to you.
Rev. by L. Kapture
My Sister’s Keeper is about Anna and Kate’s relationship. Kate was born with a vicious form of leukemia. Anna was conceived with this in mind: her parents planned on using her umbilical cord for transplant material. Which works well, and adds to their family.
But over the years, Anna’s status as a perfect donor for Kate means that every time Kate relapses, Anna is volunteered: white blood cells, bone marrow. Now Kate is 16, and her kidneys are failing from sixteen years of treatment. Anna, of course, has a kidney to spare.
Now she has a lawyer, too. Because she is asking the court to be freed of her responsibility to donate that kidney.
I read My Sister’s Keeper for the book discussion group that we are having later this month. This isn’t my usual genre, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The characters are very engaging. Picoult tells the story from all of their perspectives, in alternating chapters. Picoult makes strong statements about grief, and family, and love, and how these three elemental substances interact. Jesse, Kate’s older brother, is a charming hooligan, and the method behind his hooliganism is tied strongly into his family’s (and his own) response to Kate’s illness.
Picoult never passes up a chance to add more tension to an already tense situation, possibly unnecessarily: who needs romantic lawyer tension when Anna is making a decision that could possibly kill her sister, who she loves, who is her only friend. At times, the plot begins to feel a little soapy. But then, it does keep you turning pages.
My Sister’s Keeper is not a feel good book, but it is a good book, and a feeling read. If you like legal thrillers, romance, or medical thrillers, this book will probably appeal to you.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Kindred
by Octavia Butler
rev. by M. Meyer
The main character of this fantasy is Dana Franklin, a twenty-six year-old African American writer. Her time travel experiences begin as she and her husband Kevin are unpacking in their new Los Angeles home. She is transported to a riverbank where she hears the cries of a drowning white child. After reviving him, she is attacked by the boy’s mother who thinks she is trying to kill him. Dana faints again and finds herself back in Los Angeles.
After several more trips to the past, she learns that Rufus, the boy she saved, is a relative of hers. She is called back whenever he needs saving, and whenever she is in danger, she is transported back to the 20th century. To complicate matters, she must keep Rufus alive until he fathers her ancestor Hager with a slave named Alice, to ensure her own existence. During the time Dana is a slave her husband Kevin is also transported to the South where he is appalled at the abuse of slaves and is able to help some of them escape.
The climax of the novel comes when Dana discovers that Alice has killed herself because Rufus has threatened to sell her children away if she does not stay with him. Rufus has also made clear he intends to rape Dana, who realizes she must now put an end to Rufus, and her need to travel back to her roots.
rev. by M. Meyer
The main character of this fantasy is Dana Franklin, a twenty-six year-old African American writer. Her time travel experiences begin as she and her husband Kevin are unpacking in their new Los Angeles home. She is transported to a riverbank where she hears the cries of a drowning white child. After reviving him, she is attacked by the boy’s mother who thinks she is trying to kill him. Dana faints again and finds herself back in Los Angeles.
After several more trips to the past, she learns that Rufus, the boy she saved, is a relative of hers. She is called back whenever he needs saving, and whenever she is in danger, she is transported back to the 20th century. To complicate matters, she must keep Rufus alive until he fathers her ancestor Hager with a slave named Alice, to ensure her own existence. During the time Dana is a slave her husband Kevin is also transported to the South where he is appalled at the abuse of slaves and is able to help some of them escape.
The climax of the novel comes when Dana discovers that Alice has killed herself because Rufus has threatened to sell her children away if she does not stay with him. Rufus has also made clear he intends to rape Dana, who realizes she must now put an end to Rufus, and her need to travel back to her roots.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Fall Goods Reads Programs
Although it sometimes seems like libraries aren't about books so much anymore: we've got computers to use to find information, carry music, movies, and video games, and cooking programs; we still love our books, and plan plenty of programs to talk about good reads and meet the people who write them. Following is a list of all the programs about books that we'll be hosting this fall.
Jack Ridl: a Reading and Celebration of a Poetic Life
Jack Ridl just retired from teaching Poetry Writing, The Nature of Poetry, and Contemporary American Poetry at Hope College. He is also the founder of Hope College's The Visiting Writers Series, which since 1985 has brought more than 150 writers to campus. In 1996, the Carnegie Foundation named Ridl Michigan's Professor of the Year. This year he was invited to participate as a poet at the 2006 Geraldine R Dodge Poetry Festival which runs from September 28 through October 1.
His poetry collections include the chapbooks Against Elegies, which Billy Collins selected for The Center for Book Arts Award and Outside the Center Ring, a collection of circus poems, the poetry collections The Same Ghost (1985), Between (1988), the chapbook After School (1987), Poems from The Same Ghost and Between (1993), and Broken Symmetry (2006). He has been anthologized in numerous anthologies and poetry journals.
Tuesday, September 19
6:30-8:00 pm
Open for Discussion: a public book discussion
My Sister’s Keeper (fiction)
by Jodi Picoult
Anna was conceived to provide a donor match for her sister who has a rare form of leukemia. At 13, Anna sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is planned.
Tuesday, September 19 10:30-11:30 am
Wednesday, September 20 7:00-8:00 pm
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (history biography)
by Jung Chang
A gripping story of how three generations of women fared in the political maelstrom of China during the 20th century.
Tuesday, October 17 10:30-11:30 am
Wednesday, October 18 7:00-8:00 pm
Gilead (inspirational fiction)
by Marilynne Robinson
Gilead is a novel in the form of a letter written by John Ames, a 76 year old preacher who has lived most of his life in Gilead, Iowa, to his seven-year-old son. It is a summing-up, an apology, a compilation of his questions, experiences, fears, loves, meditations on fathers, children, faith and the imperfections of man.
Tuesday, November 14 10:30-11:30 am
Wednesday, November 15 7:00-8:00 pm
Fiction Writers Group
The Fiction Writer’s Group is a monthly writer’s group created to help writers meet fellow writers and workshop each other’s work, discuss and encourage writing and have fun in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
Group leader: Kate Rizor
Kate’s first novel, The Governor’s Wife, is due out this summer. She is a former newspaper reporter, editor and trainer. She teaches “Elements of Fiction Writing” at Portage Community Education Center.
Wednesday evenings: September 20, October 18, and November 15
6:00-8:00 pm
Portage District Library
For more information, please call Kate Rizor at 269 271-2948,
Great Books Discussion Group
Discussion leader: Ken Fischer, Portage Library Staff
From the Great Books Foundation: “Many great minds have wrestled with the search for meaning – now you can, too. Great Books reading and discussion programs provide you with the essential tools for joining the great conversation about ideas: outstanding literature and a discussion approach that helps you truly connect with literature.” Readings will be taken from the Order and Chaos series.
The price of Order and Chaos is $15.95. In addition, two full length books may be read and may need to be purchased by participants. The group will meet every other Thursday from 7:00 to 8:30 pm to discuss a selection.
Before September, contact Ken Fischer at (269) 329-4524, ext 730. The first ten people will have priority. If more than ten people are interested in joining and any from the first ten do not join, the next names in line will be offered a spot. Please contact us at the number above or ask at one of the library desks for more information.
Discussion schedule includes the following Thursdays:
September 7 Initial orientation, purchasing books, etc.
September 21 Reading One (Gogol)
October 12 Reading Two (Bhagavad-gita)
October 26 Reading Three (Rezzori)
November 9 Reading Four (Euripedes)
November 30 Reading Five (O’Connor)
December 14 Reading Six (poetry selections)
The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis (Part II)
This is a series of six lectures/discussions. Materials covered include
Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength, The Chronicles of Narnia and two readings, Till We Have Faces and A Grief Observed. The discussion will center on the key plots and Christian allegories that lie below the surface of each tale. A series of CD’s will be used to enhance the discussion.
Discussion Leader: Barbara Hemphill is an Assistant Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University where she taught a course on spirituality to occupational therapy students. She has taught a spirituality course at Portage Senior Center and The Fountains. Dr. Hemphill has a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit.
Every Tuesday, September 12 – October 17
6:30-8:00 pm
Sundays Live: Music in the Atrium
September 17
2:00-4:00 pm
Troubadours
Recorders
Chasing the Dead: a Reading and Discussion of Horror Fiction
by Joe Schreiber
Portage Northern graduate and author, Joe Schreiber, is returning to Portage for a reading from his new supernatural thriller, Chasing the Dead, and a discussion about the craft of writing edge-of-your-seat horror fiction.
Joe Schreiber was born in Michigan but spent his formative years in Alaska, Wyoming and northern California. Before settling in Hershey, Pensylvania, he lived in New York, Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, and Philadelphia. Becoming a parent forced him to consider a career with more reliable income, and he took a job as an MRI tech at Hershey Medical Center, where he wrote a good part of Chasing the Dead on hospital computers while working the night shift.
Saturday, October 14th
1:00-3:00 pm
The Many Faces of Romance
Join Members of the Mid-Michigan chapter of Romance Writers of America as they discuss the broad range of genres that comprise the romance publishing industry today.
Participants include:
Rosanne Bittner – has written 57 books with over 10 million copies in print. She is is a prestigious Willa Literary Award finalist.
Diane Burton – a former president of Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America, she has published with ImaJinn Books, a paranormal romance house.
Susan Charnley – writes historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance and has published with Leisure Books and Hard Shell Word Factory.
Lisa Childs – writes for both Harelquin Intrigue and Harlequin Next. Her novel Taking Back Mary Ellen Black is a finalist for numerous romance industry awards.
Dana Corbit – is writing her 9th inspirational romance for Steeple Hill, and has written one inspirational fiction title for Guideposts Books.
Nancy Gideon – award-winning author with over 50 titles to her credit, she has written Western historical, regency, paranormal (vampire), and contemporary romance. She currently writes for Silhouette.
Lucy Kubash – will see her first romance novel published with Triskelion this fall.
Loralee Lillibridge – one of the founders of Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America, she is published with Silhouette.
Laurie Kuna - has three paranormal romances published with ImaJinn Books and a 4th due out in Fall of 2006. Her second novel was a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice finalist.
Author book signing and reception to follow.
Saturday, October 21
1:00 -3:00 pm
James Armstrong: a Poetry Reading & Book Signing
James Armstrong’s poems sit at the knees of a mute interlocutor, full of power and restraint—the massive, indifferent, moody, beckoning Lake Superior. Influenced by Neruda, Petrarch, Lowell, and the landscape poetry of Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, Armstrong measures the clang and conceits of civilization against the force of water.
James Armstrong is the author of Monument of a Summer Hat. His poems have appeared in Triquarterly, Gulf Coast, Orion, The Snowy Egret, the New York Times Book Review, Shade, and elsewhere. Armstrong received the PEN-New England Discovery Prize for poetry in 1996, and he has been awarded an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in poetry and a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in poetry. He is currently a professor of English at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota.
Thursday, December 28
7:00–8:00 pm
Jack Ridl: a Reading and Celebration of a Poetic Life
Jack Ridl just retired from teaching Poetry Writing, The Nature of Poetry, and Contemporary American Poetry at Hope College. He is also the founder of Hope College's The Visiting Writers Series, which since 1985 has brought more than 150 writers to campus. In 1996, the Carnegie Foundation named Ridl Michigan's Professor of the Year. This year he was invited to participate as a poet at the 2006 Geraldine R Dodge Poetry Festival which runs from September 28 through October 1.
His poetry collections include the chapbooks Against Elegies, which Billy Collins selected for The Center for Book Arts Award and Outside the Center Ring, a collection of circus poems, the poetry collections The Same Ghost (1985), Between (1988), the chapbook After School (1987), Poems from The Same Ghost and Between (1993), and Broken Symmetry (2006). He has been anthologized in numerous anthologies and poetry journals.
Tuesday, September 19
6:30-8:00 pm
Open for Discussion: a public book discussion
My Sister’s Keeper (fiction)
by Jodi Picoult
Anna was conceived to provide a donor match for her sister who has a rare form of leukemia. At 13, Anna sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is planned.
Tuesday, September 19 10:30-11:30 am
Wednesday, September 20 7:00-8:00 pm
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (history biography)
by Jung Chang
A gripping story of how three generations of women fared in the political maelstrom of China during the 20th century.
Tuesday, October 17 10:30-11:30 am
Wednesday, October 18 7:00-8:00 pm
Gilead (inspirational fiction)
by Marilynne Robinson
Gilead is a novel in the form of a letter written by John Ames, a 76 year old preacher who has lived most of his life in Gilead, Iowa, to his seven-year-old son. It is a summing-up, an apology, a compilation of his questions, experiences, fears, loves, meditations on fathers, children, faith and the imperfections of man.
Tuesday, November 14 10:30-11:30 am
Wednesday, November 15 7:00-8:00 pm
Fiction Writers Group
The Fiction Writer’s Group is a monthly writer’s group created to help writers meet fellow writers and workshop each other’s work, discuss and encourage writing and have fun in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
Group leader: Kate Rizor
Kate’s first novel, The Governor’s Wife, is due out this summer. She is a former newspaper reporter, editor and trainer. She teaches “Elements of Fiction Writing” at Portage Community Education Center.
Wednesday evenings: September 20, October 18, and November 15
6:00-8:00 pm
Portage District Library
For more information, please call Kate Rizor at 269 271-2948,
Great Books Discussion Group
Discussion leader: Ken Fischer, Portage Library Staff
From the Great Books Foundation: “Many great minds have wrestled with the search for meaning – now you can, too. Great Books reading and discussion programs provide you with the essential tools for joining the great conversation about ideas: outstanding literature and a discussion approach that helps you truly connect with literature.” Readings will be taken from the Order and Chaos series.
The price of Order and Chaos is $15.95. In addition, two full length books may be read and may need to be purchased by participants. The group will meet every other Thursday from 7:00 to 8:30 pm to discuss a selection.
Before September, contact Ken Fischer at (269) 329-4524, ext 730. The first ten people will have priority. If more than ten people are interested in joining and any from the first ten do not join, the next names in line will be offered a spot. Please contact us at the number above or ask at one of the library desks for more information.
Discussion schedule includes the following Thursdays:
September 7 Initial orientation, purchasing books, etc.
September 21 Reading One (Gogol)
October 12 Reading Two (Bhagavad-gita)
October 26 Reading Three (Rezzori)
November 9 Reading Four (Euripedes)
November 30 Reading Five (O’Connor)
December 14 Reading Six (poetry selections)
The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis (Part II)
This is a series of six lectures/discussions. Materials covered include
Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength, The Chronicles of Narnia and two readings, Till We Have Faces and A Grief Observed. The discussion will center on the key plots and Christian allegories that lie below the surface of each tale. A series of CD’s will be used to enhance the discussion.
Discussion Leader: Barbara Hemphill is an Assistant Professor Emeritus at Western Michigan University where she taught a course on spirituality to occupational therapy students. She has taught a spirituality course at Portage Senior Center and The Fountains. Dr. Hemphill has a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit.
Every Tuesday, September 12 – October 17
6:30-8:00 pm
Sundays Live: Music in the Atrium
September 17
2:00-4:00 pm
Troubadours
Recorders
Chasing the Dead: a Reading and Discussion of Horror Fiction
by Joe Schreiber
Portage Northern graduate and author, Joe Schreiber, is returning to Portage for a reading from his new supernatural thriller, Chasing the Dead, and a discussion about the craft of writing edge-of-your-seat horror fiction.
Joe Schreiber was born in Michigan but spent his formative years in Alaska, Wyoming and northern California. Before settling in Hershey, Pensylvania, he lived in New York, Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, and Philadelphia. Becoming a parent forced him to consider a career with more reliable income, and he took a job as an MRI tech at Hershey Medical Center, where he wrote a good part of Chasing the Dead on hospital computers while working the night shift.
Saturday, October 14th
1:00-3:00 pm
The Many Faces of Romance
Join Members of the Mid-Michigan chapter of Romance Writers of America as they discuss the broad range of genres that comprise the romance publishing industry today.
Participants include:
Rosanne Bittner – has written 57 books with over 10 million copies in print. She is is a prestigious Willa Literary Award finalist.
Diane Burton – a former president of Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America, she has published with ImaJinn Books, a paranormal romance house.
Susan Charnley – writes historical, contemporary, and paranormal romance and has published with Leisure Books and Hard Shell Word Factory.
Lisa Childs – writes for both Harelquin Intrigue and Harlequin Next. Her novel Taking Back Mary Ellen Black is a finalist for numerous romance industry awards.
Dana Corbit – is writing her 9th inspirational romance for Steeple Hill, and has written one inspirational fiction title for Guideposts Books.
Nancy Gideon – award-winning author with over 50 titles to her credit, she has written Western historical, regency, paranormal (vampire), and contemporary romance. She currently writes for Silhouette.
Lucy Kubash – will see her first romance novel published with Triskelion this fall.
Loralee Lillibridge – one of the founders of Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America, she is published with Silhouette.
Laurie Kuna - has three paranormal romances published with ImaJinn Books and a 4th due out in Fall of 2006. Her second novel was a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice finalist.
Author book signing and reception to follow.
Saturday, October 21
1:00 -3:00 pm
James Armstrong: a Poetry Reading & Book Signing
James Armstrong’s poems sit at the knees of a mute interlocutor, full of power and restraint—the massive, indifferent, moody, beckoning Lake Superior. Influenced by Neruda, Petrarch, Lowell, and the landscape poetry of Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, Armstrong measures the clang and conceits of civilization against the force of water.
James Armstrong is the author of Monument of a Summer Hat. His poems have appeared in Triquarterly, Gulf Coast, Orion, The Snowy Egret, the New York Times Book Review, Shade, and elsewhere. Armstrong received the PEN-New England Discovery Prize for poetry in 1996, and he has been awarded an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship in poetry and a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in poetry. He is currently a professor of English at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota.
Thursday, December 28
7:00–8:00 pm
