Blog Post
Michigan Activity Pass - Check Out Free Passes to Michigan Attractions
by Sara W
Looking for adventure? The Michigan Activity Pass (MAP) is newly expanded, offering free or discounted entry to attractions across the state.
Blog Post
Nature Walk @ Barton Nature Area this Thursday
by eapearce
The Ann Arbor District Library and Natural Area Preservation team up each year to offer a series of informative walks at local nature areas throughout the summer. This year's first nature walk will take place this Thursday, May 7 from 7:00-8:30pm at the Barton Nature Area.
Barton Nature Area is a 102-acre park located along the Huron River divided into two sections. A variety of ecosystems can be seen in Barton, including old field, prairie, wet shrubland, mesic forest and emergent marsh. A representative from NAP will lead the walk, offer information about native plants and animals, and about the landscape, and answer questions. We'll meet in the parking lot off of Huron River Drive, just north of Bird Rd. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes and bring water if you'd like.
Other walks this summer will take place at Argo Nature Area, Furstenburg Nature Area and Black Pond Woods.
Public Event
Michigan Notable Book Author and U-M Professor Sally Howell Discusses Her Book “Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past”
Monday October 5, 2015: 7:00pm to
8:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
Public Event
A 1000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure
Saturday July 18, 2015: 3:00pm to
4:30pm
Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room
Adults And Teens Grade 6 And Up
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #524 "There are cities that get by on their good looks, offer climate and scenery, views of mountains or oceans, rockbound or with palm trees; and there are cities like Detroit that have to work for a living..." ~ Elmore Leonard
by muffy
Called a "powerful, timely debut" The Turner House * * by Angela Flournoy is especially poignant for readers in Southeast Michigan.
Set in Detroit's East Side, it is the story of an American family spanning five decades, from the Second Great Migration in the 1940s to the present, weathering the series of boom-and-bust associated with the auto industry and the history of the city.
Francis and Viola Turner raised all thirteen of their children in the house on Yarrow Street. Now widowed and ailing, Viola is forced to head to the suburbs and move in with Cha-Cha (Charles), her eldest. The house, once a proud symbol of working-class respectability, now stands among abandoned lots and urban plight, and is worth just a tenth of its mortgage. The Turner children must gather to decide its fate.
Narrating the family saga are Cha-Cha, who feels the full burden of being both father and brother to his 12 siblings; Troy, a former vet and a disillusioned policeman, wants to illegally short sell the house; and Lelah, the youngest daughter whose gambling addiction has cause her her job, her apartment, maybe even her family, finds it necessary to squat in the Yarrow Street house unbeknownst to her siblings.
"The Turner House brings us a colorful, complicated brood full of love and pride, sacrifice and unlikely inheritances. It's a striking examination of the price we pay for our dreams and futures, and the ways in which our families bring us home."
"Flournoy's writing is precise and sharp..., the novel draws readers to the Turner family almost magnetically. A talent to watch."
The author, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a former librarian, grew up on the west coast but spent time throughout her childhood at her grandparents' home on Detroit's East Side. She will be at the Chelsea District Library on Saturday, April 25th as part of the Midwest Literary Walk. Click here for details and other near-by opportunities to meet the author.
* * = 2 starred reviews
Blog Post
2015 Michigan Notable Books Announced
by Sara W
Each year, the Library of Michigan selects a list of titles for recognition as Michigan Notable Books. These have been singled out as exceptional titles published in the previous year that highlight Michigan people, places, and events.
In addition to drawing attention to books with a Great Lakes region focus, "...the list continues to offer something for everyone. The 2015 list represents fiction, short story collections, history, children's picture books, mysteries, poetry and memoirs," says State Librarian Randy Riley. This 2015 list includes a range of diverse offerings, from dystopian fiction bestseller Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel to Derek Jeter's YA novel The Contract, from a history of Detroit's crucial supply role during WWII in A.J. Baime's The Arsenal of Democracy to Josh Greenberg's River of Sand guidebook to fly fishing in the waterways of the Great Lakes region.
Ready to explore the books for yourself? Here's a Michigan Notable Books">list of this year's honored titles in the AADL catalog.
Blog Post
Diego & Frida
by manz
From now through mid-July the Detroit Institute of Arts is hosting the exhibition Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit. The exhibit focuses on their lives and work before Detroit, during Detroit, and after Detroit. Diego and Frida spent 1932-1933 in Detroit, where Diego worked on the Detroit Industry murals that are painted on the walls of the DIA. The work is amazing, as is the exhibit. Here’s a sneak peek of the magic if you haven’t been yet.
There’s been a lot of buzz about this exhibit and the artists are popping up all over the place, particularly Frida. Feeling inspired for more? Take a peek at the Caldecott Honor picture book Viva Frida!. There are also many other books and DVDs on Diego and Frida in the AADL collection, including the exhibit catalog that’s on order, and the visual book Diego Rivera: The Detroit Industry Murals.
Public Event
Fly Tying Workshop and Demonstration
Thursday May 14, 2015: 7:00pm to
8:30pm
Traverwood Branch: Program Room
Public Event
Nature Walk @ Black Pond Woods
Thursday September 10, 2015: 7:00pm to
8:30pm
Black Pond Woods Nature Area
Adults, Teens, And Youth In Kindergarten And Up.
Public Event
Nature Walk @ Furstenburg Nature Area
Thursday August 6, 2015: 7:00pm to
8:30pm
Furstenburg Nature Area
Adults, Teens, And Children Grades K And Up.