BIG READ - THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston is another book I'd read several years ago that is included in THE BIG READ collection. When patrons check the book out I always say, “This one is a really good!” Still, it is hard for me to put my finger on what it is about this story that makes me say those words.
Hurston's tale begins when a woman (Janie) returns home for a funeral after being gone for many years. There, on the front porch of her friend's house, she tells the tale of her life.
Despite being considered an “African American Feminist Classic,” Hurston speaks to all women. The scene in the book where Hurston describes Janie's sexual awakening under a pear tree (as she watches a bee pollinate the tree's flowers) is not only erotic but remarkably beautiful and sensitive. Hurston's words still linger in my mind, but its more than romance that makes this work so meaningful.
For me, it is Hurston's characters that stand out. On THE BIG READ'S CD Robert Hemingway's comment helped me understand why I enjoyed this book so much. He said simply, “This book is about people.” In Hurston's book we see people struggling, discovering, and growing during difficult times. It is the tale of a journey through life that defies race.
For more information on the Zora Neal Hurston's book the Their Eyes Were Watching God go to http://www.neabigread.org/books/theireyes/, then stop by the library for a copy of the book. It is a really good!

Popular New Books - Place Your Reserve

Nelson DeMille - The Gate House
J.D. Robb - Salvation in Death (available 11/4/08)
Danielle Steel - A Good Woman

Author of Marley & Me, John Grogan publishes memoir

Recently released: The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan

" The Longest Trip Home is a book for any son or daughter who has sought to forge an identity at odds with their parents', and for every parent who has struggled to understand the values of their children. It is a book about morality and grace, spirit and faith, and the powerful love of family" ---from the jacket.

The Big Read - Let's Talk About It

Earlier this summer we received a collection of audio CDs from the National Endowment of the Art’s 2007 The Big Read Program. The series discusses selected literary classics in order to promote community “reads” and discussions. I will listen to a different CD each week and share a few of my thought on the CD and book.

My first selection is title I read and enjoyed several years ago, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. The story focuses on the difficulties four Asian women experienced when the decided to move to America and the stories they left behind. The mothers/daughter relationship is especially poignant throughout this book. On the CD, Tan explains her relationship with her own mother and how it changed over the years. Samples of Chinese music and fables help the listener experience the Chinese culture.

The women discussed how their lives changed when they moved to America, focusing on the belief that their daughters could become anything in America. Tan also explores the the topic "What does it mean to be an American?" Freedom is the word that comes to my mind first. Thanks to our founding fathers, as an Americans we are free to express our different interests, talents and beliefs. Keeping with discussion facet of The Big Read, what does being an American mean to you?

New Computers Are Here!

After months of anticipation we finally received two new computers that were purchased with grant money from the Gates Foundation. They have read-write CD/DVDs and even an "A" drive for all us folks that still need them. We will now have more computers available for the public to use...now we just need the space.

New books added to the collection:

Adult fiction

• One of Those Malibu Nights by Elizabeth Adler
• Bourne Sanction by Eric Van Lustbader
• Home by Marilynne Robinson

Teen Books

• Glass by Ellen Hopkins
• The School for Cool by P.G. Kain (Dorie Dilts)

Juvenile

• The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
• Knucklehead the biography of Jon Scieszka
• Pilgrims: a nonfiction companion to Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne
  

Why do we blog?

The library staff and board of trustees of the Stewart B. Lang Memorial Library developed this blog in order to inform our users about the programs and new materials available at the library. Along the way we will share tips, fun facts, thoughts about what we're reading, listening to and watching.
We hope you will help us learn how we can serve our community better and ultimately bring us all a little closer together.