"This is my library"

Josh Hanagarne: "A library is a miracle. A place where your mind can come alive. At its loftiest, a library's goal is to keep as many minds as possible in the game." from "The World's Strongest Librarian"   


Once upon a time a river rose up and swallowed a city. In June 2008, the Cedar River was transformed from quiet and meandering to fierce and bloated. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, experienced a flood like no other in its history. Precious items and homes were lost. Business owners worried if their livelihoods could be rebuilt. Boats, not cars, were used to travel around the city's hub. A hospital was evacuated; houseboats were set adrift.   

The downtown library was destroyed first by water and later by mold. The staff rallied and created an interim library in a shopping mall. For their hard work and dedication, they were collectively named the Library Journal's 2009 Librarian of the Year. A new director was hired, and plans took shape to build and create a library that was truly 21st century. Society was rapidly changing, and the new library had to reflect those changes.

And the dream came true. In August 2013, the library's doors opened in a new downtown location.

Welcome to the Cedar Rapids Library! (Fourth Avenue entrance)

Many of us had been holding our breath, waiting to step into the future while enjoying memories of our past. We had waited for five years to hear children's excited voices as they skipped into Story Time, to see walls filled with artwork, enjoy a cup of tea in the library cafe and, of course, browse the shelves filled with crisp new books.

On grand opening day, each guest speaker began with the statement, "This is my library." And it is. It belongs to the toddler clutching a picture book. It belongs to the volunteers who are proud to guide newcomers around the library. It belongs to the downtown business people who stop in for an afternoon snack and coffee. It belongs to tweens & teens who flock to the library on spring break(!) to play video games and check out novels or DVDs. It belongs to the city's elders who sign up for classes to learn how to navigate the Internet or use email. It belongs to book groups who meet in the unconventional and perfectly named "Unconference Room."

The (middle)  Unconference Room's three glass walls
offer panoramic views of the library. 

It belongs to the readers who want comfortable chairs, and shelves filled with the latest bestsellers or much loved classics.

Second floor browsing and reading area

It has become common to hear, "oh, wow" when a visitor steps into the library for the first time. The new library is 94,000 square feet with more than 225,000 items available to check out. Another important role of the library is to serve as a community center. With seating for up to 200, the Whipple Auditorium will be used by music, drama or business groups. Weddings and birthday parties are already scheduled for the rooftop garden. If you need to exercise and catch up on email, reserve one of the treadmill computers!

Rooftop view of Greene Square Park and downtown Cedar Rapids

The library's walls feature artwork that remind us of Cedar Rapids' past. Among those are stained glass windows from the circa 1913 First Christian Church that was razed in 2012. The windows now welcome readers to the "den", a room for reading and quiet conversation in front of a fireplace. Another highlight of the den are bricks saved from the 1800s Sinclair smokestack. Ada Van Vechten, who worked hard to make the city's original Carnegie Library a reality, is honored with stained glass art in her memory.  

Stained glass windows circa 1913

Toddlers have their own special entrance to the children's room. On a recent Saturday, a little girl excitedly called out to her father "I love stories!" as she ran into the play area.

A floating alphabet wall featuring a magic doorway invites
 children into their own library space. 

National Library Week is April 13-19, with emphasis on National Library Day, April 15. Visit your library and thank a librarian. Check out a book or DVD. Discover the variety of classes offered. Reserve a room for your book group's next meeting. Or, settle into a chair and read your newest favorite book.

Thanks to the Cedar Rapids Public Library staff for making the downtown and Ladd libraries such a welcoming, vital and lively part of our community.

                            
                                 Happy Reading!       

        

                            
                          ***April***

Hal Borland: "April is a promise that May is bound to keep."

April brings us tulips, baseball, a greener Earth, Passover and Easter. It's a month that is also chock full of literary celebrations. Find a park bench and read a favorite book, try out a new word or two, and toast the Bard of Avon. 

On the shelves soon are new books by Lisa Scottoline, Jo Nesbo, Mary Higgins Clark, Greg Iles, David Balducci, Mona Simpson, Ann Brashares, Stuart Woods and Maeve Binchy.

Special April dates:

1 - Reading is Funny Day.

2 - Birth of Hans Christian Andersen: "Life is the most wonderful fairy tale." Consider reading again, or for the first time, "The Ugly Duckling."

3 -  Birth of Washington Irving: "I'm always at a loss at how much to believe of my own stories." Enjoy Irving's entertaining tales "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

4 - Birth of Maya Angelou: "Easy reading is damn hard writing." Check out "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" or "Great Food, All Day Long."

12 - Birth of Beverly Cleary: "One rainy Sunday when I was in the third grade, I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered that even though I did not want to, I was reading. I have been a reader ever since." Rediscover childhood through "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" or "Dear Mr. Henshaw."  Beverly Cleary was named a Living Legend by Library of Congress in 2000.

13-19 - National Library Week. Explore your library's shelves and find a new author or enjoy a favorite classic. Does your library offer computer classes? Concerts? Game nights? 

14 - Dictionary Day. Discover an unusual word. Play Scrabble or complete a crossword puzzle.

15 - National Library Day; National Library Staff Day. Thank a librarian!!

16 - National Bookmobile Day. According to the American Library Association, there were 879 bookmobiles in 2001. The largest number of bookmobiles peaked in 1991 with 1,125. 

17 - Haiku Poetry Day. This form of poetry is traditionally about nature and is made up of 17 syllables broken into three segments of 5,7,5. Novelist Richard Wright (1908-1960) wrote scores of poems in the Haiku style:
"Spring begins shyly
With one hairpin of green grass
In a flower pot."

22 - Earth Day. Take a walk in a park or plant a tree.

23 - Birth of William Shakespeare: "The empty vessel makes the loudest sound." Settle back in a chair and read "Love's Labour's Lost" or "Antony and Cleopatra."

23 - World Book Night. For more information: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/. The website includes an excellent list of suggested reading.  

26 - Birth of Patricia Reilly Giff: "Outside of family, writing is essential. To me, it's like breathing."  Giff is a Newbury Medal-winning children's author of  "Lily's Crossing" and "Storyteller." 

28 - Birth of Lois Duncan: "Life continues, and we all of us keep changing and building, toward what we cannot know." Duncan's writing ranges from picture books to young adult fiction. I suggest "Songs From Dreamland" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer."     

              Do You Know What it Means
                 to Miss New Orleans?*

Tennessee Williams: "America has only three cities - New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland."


While waiting for a traffic light to change on Canal Street, I overheard a man say he didn't like New Orleans. When I turned to glance back at the man, his face was contorted in a grimace as he repeated, "No, I don't like it here."

I remained on the corner after the light had changed, thinking about his unhappiness. New Orleans is a complicated city and many adjectives have tried to capture its diverse personalities. Fascinating. Corrupt. Artistic. Dangerous. Graceful. Welcoming.  His mood had not altered mine. I was ready to explore this city of contradictions.  

My husband and I were in New Orleans on a business trip (him), and a book binge (me). With only one free afternoon together, we decided to take a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking. Before the jambalaya got started, we listened to the history of the city and its culture, including the food and music that sets it apart from other American cities. Somewhere between stories of the Louisiana Purchase and the arrival of Cajuns, Pat Hirsch, our chef and instructor, said what perhaps best sums up the city: "Things are done just a little differently down here." 

Including books, I add silently.

Ignatius J. Reilly
"A Confederacy of Dunces"

National literary treasures such as William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams spent time in New Orleans dreaming of tangled plots and absorbing characters. Richard Ford, Walker Percy, John Kennedy Toole and Anne Rice have all called this city home, sometimes using it as a character.   

And don't forget the art world, cautioned a server at the R'Evolution restaurant on Bienville Street. Overhearing the conversation about great Southern literature, he reminded us that Degas lived in New Orleans and found great inspiration. Degas' house on Esplanade Avenue is now a bed and breakfast inn.

Several blocks later, I thought again of the unhappy man on Canal Street. Was he bored with New Orleans? How is that possible? The city hums with activity. There are tours of literary landmarks, haunted houses, cemeteries, architecture. Wander around Tulane University. Ride on the St. Charles streetcar line. There are museums, bars, antique stores, restaurants & cafes, bookstores, and streets lined with shops. Find a bench to rest on and listen to conversations not your own. From my bench, I watch an inebriated woman swaying and smiling broadly at an array of colorful flowers in over-sized pots, tourists checking maps, and a street artist covered in paint holding a pose, with a hat nearby for donations. Two women approach the St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square and immediately notice the tarot card readers who have taken up residence just feet from the basilica. "Is that a good idea?" one woman asked the other, pointing at the readers.  

Faulkner House Bookstore

Later, turning a corner, I breathe air that is heavy with moisture and smells of the Mississippi River, the quiet partner of New Orleans. As in all relationships, there have been moments of drama. The river has given the city much of its history and wealth. Occasionally, the river has risen up and threatened that same wealth.

Too soon, it was time to say goodbye to the city and to the river.

Our two visits to New Orleans had 15 years between them. One restaurant remained our favorite and we hoped it would still stand open on Decatur Street, offering the shrimp creole, okra, and gumbo that we remembered. On a quiet block, there it was, welcoming our return. We had a leisurely and outstanding dinner at Olivier's on our final night in the city. The restaurant's owner, Armand Olivier Sr., paid a visit to our table and we shared our fond memories of his restaurant. He smiled, and asked us to pass along our enthusiasm for his creole dishes. Consider it done, Mr. Olivier!

Food, art and music have their celebrations in New Orleans. But there is probably only one festival that has people lining up to compete for the best shouting of STELLA! from "A Streetcar Named Desire." The Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is March 19-23. (Listen for the STELLA! competition around 4:15 CST)

Maybe the spectacle of the sham Stanley Kowalskis would change the mind of the unhappy man on Canal Street.

For those of us not fortunate enough to attend the festival, we can read a novel, memoir or play of New Orleans, of the South.

Tennessee Williams - Memoirs; Streetcar Named Desire

Anne Rice - Interview With the Vampire

Elmore Leonard - Get Shorty; Mr. Paradise

Eudora Welty - Optimist's Daughter; One Writer's Beginnings

John Kennedy Toole - A Confederacy of Dunces

Julia Reed - The House on First Street

William Faulkner - A Light in August; As I Lay Dying

Flannery O'Connor - A Prayer Journal; Collected Works

Zora Neale Hurston - Folklore, Memoirs and Other Writings

James Dickey - Deliverance

Carson McCullers - The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Horton Foote - Collected Plays & The Trip to Bountiful

Allan Gurganus - Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All

Kate Chopin - The Awakening

A visit to New Orleans isn't complete without spending time in one or two (or more) bookstores. A few suggestions:
Faulkner House Books
Librairie Book Shop
Beckham's Book Shop


                         "Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans,
                                      and miss it each night and day?"

*Song by Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter, 1947
sung by Louis Armstrong

                         White Out

Stephen King: "It snowed every day now, sometimes only brief flurries that powdered the glittering snow crust, sometimes for real, the low whistle of the wind cranking up to a womanish shriek that made the old hotel rock and groan alarmingly even in its deep cradle of snow." The Shining, 1977

It's snowing again. And I'm inching closer to understanding the madness of Jack Torrance in Stephen King's "The Shining."

Usually snow and the accompanying silence are soothing to me. We live in what can be a lively neighborhood close to a city park. In the summer, our quiet Sunday afternoons are occasionally interrupted by picnickers' aggressively amped music. Both car and foot traffic keep our street busy.

But I digress. Back to the snow and madness. Meteorologists have grown somber in their predictions, no longer giddy about approaching snow storms, high winds or temperatures below zero. Swirling, fat flakes have kept us mesmerized, staring out the window. The skies have been gray and the moods bleak. 

Just like in "The Shining."

Characters in "The Shining" have faced personal struggles. Jack, who has battled alcoholism and a fierce temper, looks forward to new inspiration for his writing career and building a better relationship with his young son. The Torrances look and act like any suburban family until they are tucked into an otherwise deserted hotel, working as caretakers, and their lives are thrust into overdrive to crazy. Add creepy, vengeful ghosts and the reintroduction of alcohol in Jack's life, and you've got a downright frightening book and movie.

My house isn't inhabited by ghosts (or at least not unfriendly ones) but there are loud creaks and groans as the temperature plunges below zero. And stays there. Windows rattle and knock in the wind. I look outside and think that my street looks like a beautiful, yet tiresome, snow globe.  

March will bring longer days and, perhaps, warmer days. But there is an opportunity for more snow. The odds are good that on St. Patrick's Day, I'll be wearing a heavy coat, scarf and gloves, while still shivering.

Hopefully we're getting a little closer to this winter being only a memory of white madness.

It's snowing again. 

                                                              ***
Thank you, Stephen King, for decades of nail-biting thrillers.  

For late winter reading or check out the movies:

Carrie - The book that introduced us to Stephen King's world. High school bullies should take note.

Under the Dome - I'm looking forward to another season of the television series...hopefully we'll find out what is the meaning of the dome. No spoilers, please!

Dolores Claiborne & Misery - Actress Kathy Bates brought to life two of King's most interesting characters: Dolores Claiborne and Annie Wilkes. 

Thinner (as Richard Bachman) - This is not a recommended diet book. Billy Halleck, an overweight man, feels the wrath of a Gypsy curse and grows "thinner."

Joyland - King's foray into pulp fiction. Good character study.

Green Mile - First written as a serial, it kept me anxiously waiting for the next installment. 

Shawshank Redemption (short story) - This well-written story will break your heart. It may also change your mind about King if you've never been a fan.

On Writing - In this memoir blended with a writing guide, King reveals his difficulty in getting published and just where he gets those ideas! Definitely a book for writers and readers, and not just King fans.     

Cujo/Pet Sematary - You'll never scold your beloved Fido again.

                              ***
Not a Stephen King fan? This weekend I'm reading The Kept (James Scott) which begins with a walk through deep snow. I know what you're thinking - why not novels about sunny Florida or a Caribbean island? It's easier to join Elspeth Howell trudging through the cold snow as I look outside and see my own snow drifts. 


  

                         March 


Dr. Seuss: "I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells."

Theodor Geisel, also known by millions of readers as Dr. Seuss, would've been 110 years old on March 2. Happy Birthday!

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? My choice is "Green Eggs and Ham."


March is a busy month for readers and writers.

March 1-7 is National Write a Letter of Appreciation Week. 

March 2-8 is National Words Matter Week; Read an E-book Week*; Return Borrowed Books Week (and you know who you are!).

March 4 is National Grammar Day. Watch those lays and lies; was vs. were; among or between...

March 6 is UNESCO's World Book Day, to honor writers, illustrators and readers. 

March 8 is National Proofreading Day. 

March 8 is Girls Write Now Day. This is a perfect complement to National Women's History Month. Encourage a girl to read and write about women who have made a difference. This year's theme is "Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment." For more information about the 2014 honorees, go to www.nwhp.org.  On my Kindle* I'm reading "Everybody Matters" by Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland, 1990-1997.

Read and celebrate an Irish writer or poet on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Consider Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Colm Toibin, Jonathan Swift, Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle, Mary Robinson or Christina McKenna.

March 20 is the first day of spring. Enjoy reading a book on a park bench or writing that delayed letter of appreciation!  

                     Love in the Stacks

Jimmy Buffett: "Love in the library, quiet and cool
                          Love in the library, there are no rules
                         Surrounded by stories surreal and sublime
                         I fell in love in the library once upon a time." (1994)


The sign was enticing and immediately caught my eye: spice up your literary love life.  Adding to the mystery was a cart piled with beautifully gift wrapped books, adorned with hearts that teased family dysfunction on the high seas or meet someone who loves to eat or simply, love poems. 

My library is running its own literary dating game.

Library patrons are boldly invited to go on a blind date with a wrapped and unknown book. Much like a blind date in college, the descriptions are few and light on details. A cookbook? It could be about eating fewer carbs or it could be a culinary stroll through Rome. Fiction? It might be Danielle Steel or Virginia Woolf. Want a date with a thriller? Stephen King or Harlan Coben will make your heart beat a little faster.

Consider setting up your own literary not-quite-as-blind date. Wander into an unexplored section of your library or bookstore. Discover a different genre or author.Science fiction, westerns, romance (it's Valentine's Day, after all), could be that handsome/beautiful stranger that makes your literary life sizzle. Read serious fiction or travel essays or an actor's memoir. Just take a chance, pull a book off the shelf and read something not usually found on your book list. 

What's the worst that could happen? 

I took my own advice and checked out a novel that drew me in by promising a "rip-roaring period adventure." My blind date is Clive Cussler's "The Striker." I've never read any of Cussler's work. His character, Isaac Bell, is an inexperienced detective in Pittsburgh, who is going up against "two ruthless opponents" in the coal mining industry, according to Cussler. The tale will transport me back to the early 1900s with slang such as "swells," "classy joint," and "bigwig politicians." It's too early to predict whether or not there'll be a second date. 


Friday, February 14 is Library Lover's Day. Curl up with your literary blind date and decadent chocolate. Happy Reading!

    

 For the child in all of us...

Emilie Buchwald: "Children are made readers on the laps of their parents."

This is a very special week. February 2-8 is Children's Authors and Illustrators Week. Read a book to your favorite child or, no matter what your age, don't miss the opportunity to read outstanding children's literature. 

Award winning books:

Randolph Caldecott Award is given by the American Library Association for "most distinguished American picture books for children." The 2014 winner is "Locomotive" by Brian Floca. Also honored: "Flora and the Flamingo" by Molly Idle; "Journey" by Aaron Becker; and "Mr. Wuffles" by Kevin Henkes.

John Newbury Medal is awarded by the ALA for "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." The 2014 winner is Kate DiCamillo's "Flora and Ulysses." Also honored: "Doll Bones" by Holly Black; "One Came Home" by Amy Timberlake; "Paperboy" by Vince Vawter and "Year of Billy Miller" by Kevin Henkes.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award is for outstanding authors or illustrators. Katherine Paterson, author of "Bridge to Terabithia" was the 2013 recipient. She also wrote "Jacob Have I Loved" and "The Great Gilly Hopkins."

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is for authors and illustrators of American children's books. For 2014, the winner is Greg Pizzoli's "Watermelon Seed." Also honored: "A Big Guy Took My Ball!" by Mo Willems; "Ball" by Mary Sullivan; "Penny and Her Mother" by Kevin Henkes.

Coretta Scott King Book Award is for "outstanding books by African-American authors/illustrators that reflect the African-American experience" according to the ALA. The winning book for 2014 is "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia. Also honored: "Darius and Twig" by Walter Dean Myers; "March: Book One" by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; and "Words With Wings" by Nikki Grimes.

Other children's authors to read:

                                               Picture Books

Lois Ehlert - Snowballs & Feathers for Lunch
Eric Carle - Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Michael Rosen - We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Audrey Wood - The Napping House & Silly Sally
Bill Martin Jr. - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom 
Sandra Boynton - Moo Baa La La La
Robert McCloskey - Blueberries for Sal
Gillian Shields - When the World was Waiting For You
Ezra Jack Keats - The Snowy Day

And a new favorite of mine - William Joyce's Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

                                                    Fiction

Lois Lowry - Number the Stars & The Giver
Cynthia Rylant - Missing May
Beverly Cleary - Ramona series & Henry Huggins series
Gary Paulsen - Hatchet
Louise Fitzhugh - Harriet the Spy
Mary Pope Osborne - Magic Treehouse series
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Judy Blume - Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Karen Cushman - Catherine, Called Birdy
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting