What’s New @ AFPLS

USA Today ran a story last week remarking on the push to consumers to buy everything “green.” Well, books are no exception, and while the article mentioned the overflow of these titles on bookstore shelves, I’m here to let our patrons know that AFPLS has several of the titles mentioned (and many others not mentioned) on our shelves as well! Just check the catalog here for some of the below titles and others to see what you can find or have sent to your local branch. From green fashion tips, to green housing, to green babies, you’re sure to find something for you at the library!

•  Easy green living : the ultimate guide to simple, eco-friendly choices for you and your home
      Loux, Renée
• Gorgeously green : 8 simple steps to an Earth-friendly life
      Uliano, Sophie
• The Eco Chick guide to life : how to be fabulously green
      Vartan, Starre
• Growing up green : baby and child care
      Imus, Deirdre

October is the start of the Fall push in publishing and some of the biggest authors and titles will be debuting before the end of 2008. Due to some quirks in our budget calendar, AFPLS will be a bit slow in getting some of the later titles in, but keep checking out catalog at www.afpls.org and get yourself on the holds list as soon as they come in!

October 13
*Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
October 20
*Against Medical Advice by James Patterson & Hal Friedman
*Bones by Jonathan Kellerman
*Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn
*Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker
*Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons for the Home Cook by Martha Stewart
*The Way I Am by Eminem
October 27
*Good Woman by Danielle Steel
*Gate House by Nelson DeVille
*Influence by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen
November 3
*Divine Justice by David Baldacci
*Midnight: A Gangster Love Story by Sister Souljah
*Rachel Ray’s Big Orange Book by Rachel Ray
*Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb
November 10
*Lyrics 1964-2008 by Paul Simon
*A Mercy by Toni Morrison
*Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
*Call Me Ted by Ted Turner
*The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith
*Just After Sunset: Stories by Stephen King

Come and enjoy a lunchtime jazz break with Earmail at noon on Thursday, October 9 on the 1st floor of the Central Library.  The program will feature saxophonist John James Willikes.  Mr. Willikes brings the flavor of his home in Curaçao, Dutch Antilles to his compositions.  

Listen to a sample of the Earmail sound  before you join us.  The program is free and open to the public.  Contact the Global Access Department at 404.730.1915 for more information.

September 27-October 4 is Banned Books Week for 2008. I usually try to pick a book each year that has been banned and read it for myself during the week to see what all the fuss is about. So rebel and find yourself a banned book to read this week! Here are a few links to help you out:

*Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2007
*Banned Books Week on Facebook and MySpace

You can check the AFPLS catalog here to see which banned books are available at your local branch.

Oprah has choosen her newest book club title and it’s David Wroblewski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Published this year, Edgar Sawtelle is the story of a mute boy living in Wisconsin who has created his own sign language and who has inherited his family’s skill with dogs. Edgar’s quiet life faces some new challenges the summer of his fourteenth year with the arrival of two strangers, one a rebellious stray dog and the other his equally rebellious uncle.

If you’d like to read a review of Wroblewski’s novel, you can find the New York Times review here. You can also check out the first chapter if you can’t wait to get started.

You can check the AFPLS catalog here to see if any copies are available or to put this book on hold. I can’t wait to read it myself!

The eighth annual National Book Festival will be taking place in Washington, D.C. this weekend, Saturday the 27th on the National Mall. The festival is hosted by First Lady Laura Bush and sponsored by the Library of Congress. This is a huge event for authors, publishers, libraries and readers everywhere, and always draws big names and big crowds. Authors from all genres and age groups will be represented and you can find the complete list here.

The festival homepage also has links to podcasts of interviews with some of the participating authors, including one with Grammy award-winning performer Dionne Warwick who has written a children’s book! So if you aren’t able to actually jet off to D.C. for the weekend, be sure and check back with the site for updates and added material as the festival gets underway.

You can also check out books by some of the authors that will be headed to the festival by checking the library’s catalog here. Here’s a few suggestions for children, teens and adults to get you started:

CHILDRENS

•  Gingerbread friends
      Brett, Jan
• No, David!
      Shannon, David

YOUNG ADULT

• Neverwhere
      Gaiman, Neil
• November blues
      Draper, Sharon M

ADULT FICTION

• People of the book : a novel
      Brooks, Geraldine
• Lush life
      Price, Richard

ADULT NON-FICTION

• Einstein : his life and universe
      Isaacson, Walter
• One minute to midnight : Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the brink of nuclear war
      Dobbs, Michael

POETRY

• Old heart : poems
      Plumly, Stanley
• Flamingo watching : poems
      Ryan, Kay (Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2008-2009)

The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is partnering with Zoo Atlanta to promote family entertainment by allowing library patrons free entry to the zoo!! Beginning Tuesday, September 23 each branch of AFPLS will have one (1) pass that can be checked out for one week (7 days) and will allow free entry to Zoo Atlanta. These passes cannot be placed on hold and cannot be renewed. This is a great opportunity for library patrons like you to experience Zoo Atlanta! I can’t wait to see the baby Panda. Drop by your local branch starting September 23 or attend the official kick-off event at Central Library the same day at 10 a.m.

With over 1,000 titles, the largest part of the AFPLS Spanish collection is located in the  Global Access Department of the Central Library.  There are works of fiction and non-fiction, DVD’s, CD’s and, yes, even a few movies on VHS.  Here is a sample of the choices available:

Fiction
El vuelo de la reina Martínez, by Tomás Eloy.
Una sencilla melodía habanera : una novela  by Oscar Hijuelos

Non-Fiction
El príncipe de los mendigos by Guillermo Descalzi

CD’s
95/08  by Enrique Iglesias.
Por siempre– los numero 1 by  Los Bukis                                2C by Intocable

DVD’s
Al otro lado
El agujero                                                                   Antonieta

We also carry newspapers and magazines which do not circulate and are meant to be enjoyed inside of the library.

Newspapers:
Diario Las Americas
Excelsior
Granma
Impacto
El Pais
Mundo Hispanico

Magazines:
Bohemia
Contenido
Critica

Check the library catalog for more titles in the Global Access Department as well as at other  AFPLS branch libraries.

I know many of you have read Douglas Adams’s Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy-the constant battered state of paperback copies in the library is proof enough! It has just been announced that British author Eion Colfer will pen a new installment to be entitled And Another Thing… Eion Colfer is best known for his best-selling Artemis Fowl series. The book is due oct in October of 2009.

You have time to catch up on the series, which includes:

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Life, the Universe and Everything
So Long, and Thanks for the Fish
Young Zaphoid Plays It Safe
Mostly Harmless
The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

You can check the afpls catalog here to see which titles are available at your local branch.

Thanks to PopCandy for the info!

If you have a multi-language household or want to refresh your high school language skills, it can difficult to find books in languages other then English. Luckily, AFPLS provides many foreign language books through our Global Access Department. Materials from this department can be placed on hold through the online catalog available at www.afpls.org. When using the catalog search, first click on power search then scroll down and click on the language you’d like to see materials in.

If you don’t feel like waiting the 3-5 days it takes for materials to transfer between branches, you can also read foreign language books online for free! Foreign language materials that are in the public domain, which means that they are no longer under copyright, can be found at Project Gutenberg’s Foreign Language Page. Books are available in over 50 languages, from Bulgarian to Welsh, with some languages, such as Spanish, French and Chinese having over 50 titles available. These titles can be downloaded and read online for free, along with thousands of English-language books. Check out Project Gutenberg and enjoy!