Birmingham Public Library Blog

Each year BPL staff list their favorite books from the previous year in a free guide called Season’s Readings . This year the library has revamped the look and title of the publication, renaming it Books for All Seasons and streamlining the design and content. Now published at the beginning of each year, Books for All Seasons will be available to the public year-round. Books for All Seasons includes recommendations for adults, teens, and children in both fiction and nonfiction. Each book is chosen by a staff or board member as one that they enjoyed reading in the previous year—not necessarily one that was published in the previous year. This year’s Books for All Seasons includes fiction titles such as American Vampire by Scott Snyder , Rafael Albuquerque , and Stephen King ; The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien ; and The Paris Wife by Paula McLain . Nonfiction titles featured are At Home: a Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson ; Bossypants by Tina Fey ; and Malcolm X: A Life o...

Each year, BPL staff review their favorite books from the previous year (or years) in a free guide called Books for All Seasons , which will be available free to you year-round. Well, as luck would have it, 2013's Books for All Seasons is hot off the press and ready for you now at any BPL location ! Books for All Seasons includes recommendations for adults, teens, and children in both fiction and nonfiction. Each book is chosen by a staff or board member as one that they enjoyed reading in the previous year—not necessarily one that was published in the previous year. This year’s edition includes so many good fiction titles, including the following: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter Kings Go Forth by (Birmingham author) Joe David Brown The Reverend's Wife by Kimberla Lawson Roby Summer gothic : a collection of Southern hauntings The Sacred Place by Daniel Black The Reverend's Wife by Kimberla Lawson Roby Sanctuary Cove by Rochelle Alers Nonfiction titles f...

Our next spotlight is on author Dimple J. Martin, Ph.D. She is a part of the  Local Authors Expo , happening this Saturday, November 4, at the Central Library from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Meet Dr. Martin ahead of the expo in this short Q&A between her and the Birmingham Public Library. 

The publication formerly known as Season’s Readings was a great success for more than twenty years. With that in mind, the BPL staff decided to tweak it and create a book that will serve our community all the livelong year. Therefore, Books forAll Seasons was born. Created by BPL staff and overflowing withgreat reviews of great books, Books forAll Seasons includes recommendations for adults, teens, and children in both fiction and nonfiction. It is free to the public as our gift to you. (The Hollywood sign is in the distance. Photo taken from Mulholland Drive ) One of our staff members headed to Hollywood recently to seehow our handsome publication compared to some other famous institutions, such as the signs in Hollywood and Beverly Hills ( swimming pools and movie stars ). We feel ours did just fine. Vacation time is upon us, so if you're looking for something to read at the beach or in a plane, train or automobile , visitone of our 18 branches to pick up your copy. We hav...

Ready to celebrate the holidays? The Birmingham Public Library is hosting 86 different holiday programs and activities  ( pdf ) to help patrons of all ages get in a festive, joyous mood all month long in December, beginning Thursday, December 1.  Among the highlights: * Season's Readings & Festive Eatings at the Central Library throughout December , as library patrons are invited to share their most treasured holiday memories and tastiest recipes. * Family Fun Night: Gingerbread House Building at the Avondale Regional Library at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6 . You can also pick up gingerbread house decorating kits and enter Springville Road Regional Library's gingerbread house contest beginning Thursday, December 1 . Springville Road gingerbread house winners will be announced on December 20. * Attend Titusville Branch's Christmas Community Resource Day from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6 , where 50 kids will receive free bicycles, toys, and clothes. * W...

Beautiful Ruins Jess Walter In his next novel, after The Financial Lives of Poets , Jess Walter offers us an engaging story, titled Beautiful Ruins , spanning fifty years in glamorous and exotic locales including Rome, Porto Vergogna, and Hollywood. The reader, at first, wonders why a young Hollywood starlet would flee the larger-than-life Roman movie set of Cleopatra (1962) and sail to a remote fishing village on the steep western coast of Italy. What do the working class locals, including a love-struck innkeeper, think of such a bizarre arrival? How does this connect with Hollywood operatives decades later? This literary novel, while not a thriller, captures the reader’s attention and imagination and holds both to the end. Themes of ruined beauty are gorgeously developed throughout—especially the coastal villages of Cinque Terre where colorfully painted small buildings are stacked and packed so steeply and precariously onto rocky cliffs that one can imagine them slipping into t...

  The Birmingham Public Library is hosting its 2023 Local Authors Expo this Saturday, November 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Central Library downtown, 2100 Park Place. The annual Local Authors Expo showcases Alabama authors, including many from the Birmingham area. This year's theme is "How to Market Your Self-Published Book." The event is free to the public. If you desire to write a book and would like some valuable advice, come soak in tips from featured speakers Vanessa Davis Griggs , a best-selling Christian fiction author, and  Joi Milner , recently awarded the title of  "America's Next Great Author." In addition to hearing from the speakers, come meet 30 authors who have books for sale and ask them questions about their publishing journey. T he 30 authors registered for the 2023 Local Authors Expo are as follows: * Joyce Brooks - "It Ain't Over" * Erma Cooper - "Granny's Golden Nuggets" * Jessie Crawford - ...

On January 2, 1965, Joe Namath, star quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide , signed a contract to play professional football with the AFL’s New York Jets . Certainly, numerous other college players from around the country were signing contracts with AFL and NFL teams as that new year began, but Namath’s was indeed unique. The terms of the deal were astonishing for the time—a three year, no-cut, no-trade agreement that was valued at $427,000, and which included a brand new Lincoln Continental convertible that was custom painted New York Jets green. The 400K figure was not only the largest in the history of professional football; it was, by far, the most money ever paid to an individual in a team sport. By comparison, the average salary that year in the AFL was somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000. Even Major League Baseball legend Mickey Mantle , the New York Yankee’s 3-time MVP award winner, made only $100,000 in 1964. The reason for Namath’s big contract could only be partia...

Visages of gladiatorial battles and chariot races often fill the minds of modern audiences with wonder. Ancient Roman sport and spectacle have long-since been an inspiration for popular culture- from books and plays to television and moves. Chariot races were quite popular in much of the ancient Mediterranean for over a millennium. Roman chariot races were much like modern NASCAR/stock car driving, with both standard regulations and variances in tracks, as well as excitement at both wins and crashes! Perhaps best known for its thrilling chariot race, Ben-Hur (1959) is considered by many to be one of the best films of all time. This historical epic starring Charlton Heston follows a prince who was sent into slavery, and later seeks revenge on the race track. The film is actually based upon a book written in 1880 by Lew Wallace of the same name . Perhaps even more surprising, the 1959 film is neither the first nor the last screen adaptation, with a 1925 silent film and a remake cur...

Eagle Creek Falls - Sipsey Wilderness Area The crisp edge of autumn is upon us and for a few hundred rabid fanatics around the state the change in the weather brings one of the most anticipated seasons of the year: hiking season. Hiking is at its best in Alabama from the time  that persimmons begin dropping from the trees in autumn until privet hedge begins blooming in the spring. You may be surprised to learn that Alabama offers many excellent hiking opportunities. From hiking amidst alligator ponds and carnivorous plants in the Conecuh National Forest on the Florida state line to the felled tree bridges and precipitously steep canyon trail of the Walls of Jericho on the Tennessee state line, Alabama has an amazing variety of hikes for all ages and fitness abilities. Although there are challenging and scenic day hikes to be had in the Birmingham area, the truly great hiking spots in Alabama can be found by driving an hour or two outside of the Birmingham metropolitan ar...

Image credit: Corinne Cox - The Cat IS the Hat The Birmingham Public Library kicks off Women’s History Month  with an exhibition of works by Alabama sculptress Corinne Cox. Art with Spin features raku-fired ceramic depictions of imaginary creatures perched in open books, spinning heads topped with fantastical objects and animals, and vessels clenched by dragon’s claws.  Art with Spin  will be on view in the Lobby Gallery at the Central Library through May 23. A reception for the artist will take place on Saturday, March 15, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the first floor.  Says Cox, “I like art that tells a story and creates an emotion. By making my sculptures spin the viewer can interact and engage in the story of the piece. My favorite emotion created is usually happiness and laughter, but the rich darkness of raku can spin in mystery. My spinning head candle lanterns were inspired by the jack-o’-lantern. I enjoyed carving a pumpkin each year but was sad when it can time to ...