The Bookshelf

LitLounge is the Library’s own book discussion group for 20- and 30-somethings. We’ve been meeting once a month for about a year now, discussing a great variety of titles in both fiction and nonfiction. We have  a new title for August, so it’s a perfect time to get in the group!

This August at LitLounge:

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel

August 18th, 2010 at 7:00 PM
The Curragh Irish Pub
8266 Lincoln Avenue

Since this is a short story collection, we’re only going to be able to discuss a few stories. We recommend you read these eight. (Don’t worry, they’re short.)

• Tonight is a Favor to Holly (page 5)
• In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried (page 29)
• The Harvest (page 103)
• The Most Girl Part of You (page 111)
• Weekend (page 199)
• Sportsman (page 209)
• Reference #388475848-5 (page 337)
• The Dog of the Marriage (page 347)

Please feel free to read others and share them with the group. You can pick up a copy of this book at the Readers’ Services desk on the first floor.

We also welcome suggestions for future titles. Please let us know in the comments!

The book discussion is Tuesday, April 13 at 7pm.

Whether you’ve read IraqiGirl (Adult Nonfiction-Teen 956.704431 I PBK) or thinking about it, check out this bibliography for some related suggestions.

Books

Al-Windawi, Thura. Thura’s Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq. 2004.

(Youth Nonfiction 956.70443 A)

Nineteen-year-old Thura al-Windawi kept a diary during the conflict in Iraq, saying that it was her way of controlling the chaos. The diary, which documents the days leading up to the bombings, the war itself, and the lawless aftermath, puts a personal face on life in Baghdad.

Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. 2007.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen 966.404 B)

Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child-soldiers. By age 13, Ishmael Beah (from Sierra Leone) was recruited by the government army, made a full soldier and learned to shoot an AK-47.

Corrie, Rachel. Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie. 2008. (956.94054092 C)

How do we find our way in the world? How do our actions affect others? What do we owe the rest of humanity? These are the timeless questions so eloquently posed by Rachel Corrie, a young American activist killed in 2003 when she tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home in the Gaza Strip.

Filipovic, Zlata. Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Sarajevo. 1995.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen B F4831.zL PBK)

Zlata began her diary just before her 11th birthday, when there was peace in Sarajevo and her life was that of a bright, intelligent, carefree young girl. Then war comes to her home, and we see the world of a child increasingly circumscribed by the violence outside.

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. 1995.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen B F828.di)

A revision of this great document of WWII, considerably expanding the popular work originally published in 1947. At age 13, Anne Frank began recording her extraordinary ordeal and continued to write in her diary over the next two years.

Halpin, Mikki. It’s Your World–If You Don’t Like It, Change It: Activism for Teenagers. 2004.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen 371.81 H PBK)

You can change the world. This book shows you how to act on your beliefs, no matter what they are, and make a difference. The information inside includes the basics of activism, projects, and outreach ideas.

Jackson, Livia Bitton. I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in the Holocaust. 1997.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen 940.5318 J)

An intimate and haunting memoir of a 13-year-old girl who survived Auschwitz, Elli Friedmann recounts what it was like to be one of the few teenaged camp inmates. Through a series of tiny but miraculous twists of fate, Elli managed to come out of the experience alive, together with her mother and her brother.

Jessup, Dallas. Young Revolutionaries Who Rock: An Insider’s Guide to Saving the World One Revolution at a Time. 2009.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen 361.763068 J PBK)

From the front lines of youth activism, Dallas Jessup (age 17) delivers a how-to-guide for any teen who wants to change the world. She shares inspiring stories of 10 high-impact teens and her own community service project.

Jiang, Ji-Li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. 1997. (Adult Nonfiction-Teen 951.056 J)

Ji-li Jiang was 12 years old in 1966, the year that Chairman Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in China. An outstanding student, Ji-li seemed poised for a shining future. But all that changed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution, when intelligence became a crime and a wealthy family background invited persecution or worse.

Lewis, Barbara A. The Teen Guide to Global Action: How to Connect with Others (Near & Far) to Create Social Change. 2008.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen 303.484 L PBK)

Here’s a book for every teen who wants to get involved in service and social change. It includes practical tools readers can use to support causes they are passionate about at the local, national, or global level.

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq. 2005.

(Adult Nonfiction-Teen 956.70443 R PBK)

Riverbend is the blog name of a young Iraqi woman in Baghdad, and this book collects comments she posted from August 2003 to December 2004. Once a computer programmer who enjoyed considerable personal freedom, after Baghdad’s fall Riverbend finds that she is unemployed and largely restricted to the safety of her family’s home.

Links

HNK’s blog is a diary of IraqiGirl

The blog that became a book! This includes archives as well as current posts, artwork, links, info about the blogger, and the situation in Mosul.

Middle East Children’s Alliance

Middle East Children’s Alliance is a registered nonprofit organization working for the rights and the well-being of children in the Middle East, and sends shipments of aid to Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, and supports projects that make life better for the children.

Underage Reading

Elizabeth Wrigley-Field is the editor of IraqiGirl. This award winning blog has reviews and recommendations of books for children and teenagers – and much more, posted by Elizabeth and co-blogger Emily.

An article from School Library Journal

“IraqiGirl: The Modern-Day Anne Frank.”

SLJ talks to the book’s editors Elizabeth Wrigley-Field and John Ross and asks how they curated IraqiGirl’s blog posts and why Hadiya could be the Anne Frank of our time.

Documentaries

The Invasion of Iraq. Not rated. 2004. (DVD 956.70443 I)

Originally broadcast as an episode of the PBS television news program Frontline on February 26, 2004. This is a follow-up report on the U.S.-led coalition’s March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Iraq in Fragments. Not rated. 2007. (DVD 956.70443 I pt.1-2)

This documentary in three parts offers a series of intimate, passionately felt portraits. American director James Longley spent more than two years filming in Iraq to create this stunningly photographed, poetically rendered documentary of the war-torn country as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

Tonight from 7:00 to 8:30pm,Vineeta Vijayaraghavan, author of the Coming Together in Skokie novel Motherland, will speak about her novel and the experience of immigrating to the United States from India. Skokie Public Library Director Carolyn Anthony will engage in a dialogue with the author, followed by a chance for the audience to ask questions. This wonderful program will take place in the Petty Auditorium.

Registration is not required. Seating is limited.

IraqiGirl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq

April 13th at 7:00pm

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The Women’s National Book Association has deemed October as National Reading Group Month. According to WNBA president Joan Gelfland, “In the last five years, the book club population has increased 25 percent, rising from 4.6 million to 5.2 million adults.”

Along with sponsoring author events around the country, nine books considered Great Group Reads are being spotlighted: Appassionata by Eva Hoffman, The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë by Syrie James, The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey, Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz, While I’m Falling by Laura Moriarty, Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, Cost by Roxana Robinson and Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie. All are intelligent, thought-provoking books that are perfect for discussion or anyone who is a fan of smart fiction (and, in the case of Perfection, nonfiction).

Interested in starting your own group? Check out our Discussion Tips, Reviews and Resources page, which includes a list of books available for bulk loan to local groups. For information on Library book discussion groups, contact us online or at 847.673.7774.

Come to LitLounge you North Shore 20 and 30 somethings.  We will be discussing  The  Brief  Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz, a Pulitzer Prize winning work.

The discussion will take place at Edwardo’s Natural Pizza located at 9300 Skokie Blvd in Skokie from 7:30 -9ish on July 22nd.  Sign up and receive a copy of the book at the Skokie Library Reader Services’ desk at 5215 Oakton St., Skokie.

Enjoy a lively discussion of this wonderful book… and free pizza.

With the weekend almost upon us, there comes a time to answer that all important question: what are we going to do with ourselves with two whole days of freedom?

Forgive us for playing to stereotypes, but we’re going to curl up with a good book. The weather’s getting warm, but not too warm just yet. It might be a perfect time for us to have a seat on the back porch and tuck into The Way Home, the latest novel from crime novelist George Pelecanos.

I’m a fan of more “realistic” crime fiction, and Pelecanos has always managed to suffuse his work with a definite sense of place.  A longtime native of the Washington, D.C. area, his books are always filled with the little geographic details that make the stories feel more authentic. He’s begun to move away from doing straight crime stories, and The Way Home looks to be a continuation of that trend.

As a fan of his books, and the filmed work he’s been a part of (he was a writer and producer on HBO’s The Wire), I can’t wait to get started on The Way Home.

What about you? Let us know your weekend reading plans in the comments.