I remember when I was a little boy I was so disappointed to find out that most adult books didn’t have pictures. What fun is a book without pictures? I was outraged. Today, still, I think pictures are a great way to enhance the reading experience. Luckily, I’ve found many others who agree with me. Some of them are visual artists who have been inspired by literature or literary figures. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to highlight two blogs that show off a wide range of literary inspired art.

Picture Book Report

I love this blog. It’s a project where many different visual artists have agreed to re-illustrate the classics. Each artist chooses one book to work from, and each week we get new artwork illustrating key scenes from that book. Some of the books chosen so far have been Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, A Wrinkle in Time, Geek Love, and many others. The visual styles vary greatly from artist to artist. For me, it’s really illuminating to see someone else’s conception of a well loved classic.

Hey Oscar Wilde! It’s Clobberin’ Time!!!

Yes, it’s a silly name for a blog. I’m not sure what the story behind the name is, but it’s a fun website where different artists draw or paint portraits of their favorite literary authors or characters. There must be over a hundred artists participating, and they’ve drawn everyone from H.P. Lovecraft and Kurt Vonnegut to Willy Wonka and Ignatius J. Reilly.

With the global economy still reeling from the sub-prime housing crisis and its various aftershocks, governments everywhere are feeling the pinch, particularly at the local levels.  Budgets have been slashed and when the hard decisions must be made as to how to balance them, departments considered to be “non-essential” are usually first on the chopping block.  Sadly, this category often includes the local library.  The Dekalb County Public Library system has been very fortunate and hasn’t been forced to make any service reductions or branch closures, however others have not been so lucky. In this environment of reduced and discontinued services, a few communities have decided to take matters into their own hands.

In Hannover, Germany, some neighborhoods are served by a community bookshelf. The shelves are placed in various areas around the city and completely free and accessible to all. Borrowers don’t need library cards, nor must they worry about overdue fines. In return, all that is asked of borrowers is that they donate a couple of books of their own in order to ensure that a healthy supply is available.

In Westbury-sub-Mendip, a small village in southwest England, residents raised an outcry when they learned they were to lose their “beloved” red phone booth, fresh on the heels of the discontinuation of their mobile library service. So when one creative resident suggested transforming the phone booth into a miniature library, the idea was accepted immediately. The parish council purchased the red phone booth, outfitted it with four wooden shelves, residents donated books (and a notice reading “Silence please”), and the mini-library began operation. It quickly became a hit. The library is open 24/7 (it is lit at night), and the inventory is checked regularly in order to identify titles which are not circulating (which are then donated to charity), in order to keep the selection fresh. And the residents of Westbury-sub-Mendip are not the only ones who have had the bright idea to re-purpose a phone booth. British Telecom has received 770 applications from communities to “adopt a kiosk”, and thus far 350 booths have been distributed to parish councils throughout England.

I’d love to have something like this in my neighborhood, how about you?

Chinese New Year, that is. Chinese New Year is a centuries-old celebration that is based on the Chinese lunar calendar. The New Year celebrations begin on the first full moon of the year and last for about a week to 15 days.  This year marks the year of the Tiger and will begin on February 14. Festivities take place all over the world and many images that characterize the New Year include dragons, lanterns, fireworks and parades. Check out some wonderful images from last year’s celebrations at The Big Picture.

If you would like your child to learn more about Chinese New Year, the Library is an excellent resource! Check out the following books:

Celebrate Chinese New Year by Carolyn Otto

Paper Crafts for Chinese New Year by Randel McGee

D is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine

The Chamblee Library will be hosting fun and festive programs in honor of the New Year and the Year of the Tiger. Children can drop by the Library by February 13 to pick up a tiger to decorate and enter in their Chinese New Year Art Contest and they can attend the Chinese New Year Craft on February 6. And don’t miss out on Chamblee Library’s Chinese New Year Celebration kickoff on February 13. There will be traditional drumming, dancing, and more! For more information call the Chamblee Library at (770) 936-1380 or check their online event schedule.

I happen to love all kinds of music but more than anything else I love The Divas. You know the types: singing sensations who have been blessed with extraordinary musical talent, undeniable charisma and, in a few cases, possible delusions of grandeur (even though, in truth, such singers are grand). Thanks to the Library, I’ve been able to “discover” the amazing singers of previous  generations (I hate to say of past generations because, to me, that implies that their impact has somehow diminished with time). I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect upon my favorite Divas of all time:

The Greatest Star/Diva–Barbra Streisand: I had been wholly unfamiliar with Barbra Streisand’s work until a few years ago.  The first record I’d ever heard of hers was The Movie Album featuring the Charlie Chaplin classic “Smile” (one of my favorite songs of all time). I remember being in awe of the power, clarity and beauty of her voice, thinking I wanna hear every song this woman has ever sung! I haven’t yet, but I figured I should start with a greatest hits compilation (The Essential Barbra Streisand is a great place to start for the uninitiated). It also occurred to me to read up on the Brooklyn-born legend so I’ve picked up a fascinating book about her, Barbra: The Way She Is by Christopher Andersen.  It’s a captivating, fast-paced read that, if any of it is to be believed, casts Streisand as the Diva of all Divas; a woman of magnificent talent, unfettered ambition and enormous ego (but what’s a diva without an ego?).

Diva Supreme–Diana Ross: I’ve always loved the Supremes, probably a little more than I’d enjoyed Diana Ross’ solo work but she’s another unabashed Diva. DCPL has lots of music by Diana Ross, as a Supreme (we have this great box set, covered in magenta velvet, that I really like) and as a soloist. Also for fans of unauthorized biographies, such as myself, J. Randy Taraborrelli has written a fun, action-packed tome about this diva.

Over The Rainbow Diva–Judy Garland: I’ve been a fan of Judy Garland since seeing her in The Wizard of Oz as a youngster. Her voice is an instrument of heartbreaking beauty; rich and soaring with its distinctive vibrato . The Library also has lots of music and several books about the magnificent Ms. Garland.

Material Diva–Madonna: Arguably, Madonna can’t exactly hold a candle (vocally, at least) to the aforementioned Divas, even though she’s delivered many of the seminal pop classics of the late 20th century. But she is remarkable in her ability to re-imagine and reinvent herself with the times.  She’s also got several tell-all books devoted to her mythic and perhaps even cutthroat journey to the top, including one by her brother Christopher Ciccone.

I Will Always Love This Diva–Dolly Parton: I’ve always admired Dolly Parton as a talented, ambitious and shrewd performer, businesswoman and artist. Also, she happens to be one of my all-time favorite songwriters, having penned such classics as “Coat of Many Colors,” “Joshua” and ”I Will Always Love You” (which has been covered by another Diva, Whitney Houston). Her way with words and her one of a kind, crystalline voice (not to mention her country-girl-made-good sense of style) put her into a class all by herself.

I have a dear friend who loves poetry and can quote huge chunks of it anytime you ask.  I envy her that because most of the time poetry doesn’t work for me.  I had a brief flirtation with John Donne in college but that light burned bright and then died quietly and though I’ve tried, I  haven’t been able to work up the will to take another ride on the Poetry Appreciation Train.  I want to ride but I  just don’t get most poetry.  I’ve often wondered if this disability is tied up with my inability to appreciate jazz or the Three Stooges–it’s something that works for some but not all.  I had grown accustomed to thinking that poetry, much like pro football, was never going to be for me.   However, I stumbled across a collection of sijo poems in the children’s collection a while back and finally found a crack in my poetry defenses.  My favorite from the book is called Wish and it so perfectly conveys how poetry should work on a person’s heart  that it almost makes me weep (almost.)  Thanks to this Korean form of poetry, which looks so innocent and non-threatening,  I’ve been tempted into the poetry section–that’s 811 to the Dewey Decimal users among us.  It’s still rocky going but I’ve now realized that  Edna St. Vincent Millay is not as twee and ladylike as I thought and that has been a marvelous discovery for me.  Maybe I’ll give John Donne a call.

Today is the anniversary of the birth for two famous Georgians.  These two men made an impact in their respective fields. I knew the first one, Ty Cobb, was from Georgia but I was surprised that Ossie Davis was from Georgia.

Ty Cobb made his impact on the baseball world.  He was born in 1886 in Narrows, Georgia. He was known as the “Georgia Peach” and was considered an outstanding offensive player of all time.  He played for Augusta in the minor South Atlantic League. He set many Major League records. Several are still intact today.  Ty Cobb  was the first man elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame which was established in Cooperstown, Ohio in 1936.

Want to learn more about Ty Cobb? Check out these books.

Ty Cobb by Charles C Alexander

Cobb: a biography by Al Stump

Ossie Davis made an impact in films. He was born in Cogdell Georgia in 1917.  He was known as one of the busiest African-American Entertainers in the 1970’s.  In his career he wrote plays and books. He was a director, playwright and producer. He co-starred in a radio program with his wife in the mid-1970’s.

Want to learn more or see some of Ossie Davis’s work? Check out the following.

Black Directors in Hollywood by Melvin Donaldson

Finding Buck McHenry

Miss Ever’s boys

With Ossie Davis and Ruby: in this life together

Just Like Martin by Ossie Davis

Want more information about these gentleman but can’t get into a library? You can use the Library’s electronic resource, Biography Resource Center. This resource along with other electronic resources can be found on our Reference Database page.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, at least to me, now that the winter cold is finally upon us. It always takes me a bit longer to get into the Christmas spirit than most people I know. I won’t say that I’m a Grinch or anything but, when it comes to the holidays, I’m definitely more of a Charlie Brown.

It had been years since I’d watched the beloved Christmas classic A Charlie Brown Christmas so I figured now was as good of a time as any for a nostalgic dose of holiday cheer. I needed a little reminder of the true meaning of the holiday and, thanks to the Peanuts gang,  I’ve got a new lease on this Christmas season.

As a little kid the original Charlie Brown Christmas special was a holiday tradition. But even then I can’t say that I truly understood the plight of our greatly put-upon protagonist Charlie Brown. In those days I couldn’t understand why Chuck was so glum; it was Christmas, after all. In hindsight, of course, it’s easy to see why Charlie Brown, a youngster possessed of a thirtysomething’s melancholy,was having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. He’d become disenchanted with the commercialism of the holiday, a  complaint that has grown much timelier in this day and age. His efforts to celebrate Christmas in a more meaningful way–from agreeing to direct the Christmas play to selecting a spindly, pathetic Christmas tree–are unpopular at first. But eventually the gang come to appreciate Charlie Brown’s sensitivity and simplicity–at least, until the next holiday special rolls around.

This is one of my favorite Christmas programs of all time for a number of reasons–the sweet and simple story featuring Charles Schulz’s well-loved characters, the use of non-professional children in the voice cast. But one of the things I love most about this special is its  soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi, a charming score that lends a sweetness yet sophistication to the show. Not only does this soundtrack boast “Linus and Lucy”, the song that has come to be the Peanuts theme but it also features one of my favorite modern Christmas songs “Christmas Time is Here”.

I can’t think of a better way to get into the Christmas spirit than this:

I just had the amazing opportunity of spending two weeks backpacking Northern India along with two other friends. We started in Delhi and made our way around the Golden Triangle stopping in Agra, Jaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar, Ranthambore, and Mathura. I can only describe India as one of the most interesting experiences of a lifetime.  Here are my five can’t miss sights and activities:

5. Jaipur aka The Pink City

This entire city is built of pink stucco, even the walls that surround it, hence the name “The Pink City”. It is known for its beautiful palaces, rugged fortresses, and the most amazing sunset colors known to mankind… well at least in my opinion.

During the time we visited, the Indian holiday Dewali was in full force. The streets were exceedingly crowded and chaos surrounded us. After several attempts to fit in with the madness we retreated to a roof top restaurant and enjoyed the views and activities from a comfortable distance.

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The first decade of the New Millennium–what are we calling these years? the aughties? the oh-ohs?–is coming to a close. If you scour the internet and troll the newsstands you’re likely to find that the jury may have reached a verdict on how to define the 2000s. If Time Magazine is to be believed, we have reached the denouement of “The Decade From Hell” (ouch!). There are numerous events within this decade that merit such harsh judgment: the current economic crisis, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. In light of those events, it’s easy to get caught up in the doom-saying and disparaging of an entire decade. But with only 29 days (and counting left) of The 2000s I’d like to at least try and find something nice to say about the decade.

Thinking back on where we were ten years ago, I can’t help but to recall the excitement yet trepidation with which we looked to the future. The 2000s were upon us! The Capital F Future was on its way! We were all very excited because we had a feeling that The Future was gonna look something like this:

Even though it’s been 9 years since the dawn of The New Millennium, to me the phrase the year 2000 will always have a futuristic ring to it. That phrase represented, for many generations, our hopes, dreams and fears for the forseeable yet distant future.  The 2000s decade may not have come to fruition in ways that our forebears had hoped (alas, no flying cars yet) and is instead being defined by the crises and challenges that came to a head in these years.  But perhaps we can also come to appreciate these strange and trying years for the opportunities they presented to us. I know for me, it’s most often through adversity and change that I learn who it is I really am and who it is I’d like to be.

The newspapers and media outlets scramble to assign a name or a definition to the years 2000 and beyond. But how do you define the decade? What has the New Millennium meant to you thus far?

I’m a sometime potter.  There’s something about getting my hands in the mud that satisfies my soul and some days slapping a few pounds of clay around is better therapy than anyone could ever guess.  There are few things that make me happier than when something beautiful and useful spins into being under my hands.  My first piece happened mostly by accident and was astoundingly ugly.  It took a lot of work to get to the point where I could say, “I want to make a bowl” and I would actually make a bowl.  By then I had set the movements required to do that firmly in the muscles of my hands, arms, even my hips because I use them all when I throw a pot.

According to my instructor at the time, the first pot anyone ever makes always looks like a dog food can.  It will be ugly but it is precious.   She was right of course, nearly everyone in that class turned out something similar to a dog food can and we all treated them as if they were Rookwood.  I had no idea how her comment had stuck with me until many years later when I was standing in a ceramics museum in Toronto.  In front of me, encased in glass, protected from the environment and miscreants and no doubt heavily insured, was a pottery dog food can.   I was staggered.  I knew in my heart that I was looking at a young potter’s first piece.  This pot, made 800 years before my visit to a museum, was made almost exactly the same way my own dog food can had been created.  I knew in my muscles how that potter had shaped her piece and this connection to a long dead person left me breathless.  I stared at that little pot so long the guard peeked over my shoulder to see, I suppose, what was keeping my attention.  I doubt he realized it was the dumpy little piece off to one side.

A curator at the Michael C. Carlos Museum told me this is called the long echo–that visceral connection to long ago though an artifact or text.  It’s an astounding experience and I highly recommend it.  If you want to go the mud route check out our collection–we’ve got lots of great titles, not just on making pots but decorating as well.  Take a class at either Spruill or Callenwolde and after you’ve got your own precious dog food can, make a visit to the Carlos ( I am particularly attracted to the Ancient American collection) and see if you too can hear the echo.