Birmingham Public Library Blog

The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man W. Bruce Cameron This fiction title by Bruce Cameron—author of  8 Simples Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter  (which was made into a series for ABC television), A Dog's Purpose , and other novels featuring dogs, either incidentally or centrally—is a fun and enjoyable read. Cameron does a new take on the plot of The Lovely Bones , with a murder victim providing part of the narrative from beyond the grave. But in this tale, the ghostly presence and observations of the murder victim can be heard by ex-con and former college football standout Ruddy McCann. McCann, trying to rebuild his life after a tragic car accident sent him to prison, is an ordinary guy just trying to get along. By day (and night) he works as a repo man in the small town of Kalkaska, Michigan. But one day he hears a voice, seemingly recalled from a dream, that helps him in a tough spot. A couple of coincidences (or perhaps a touch of karma) allow him to attempt to ...

The year 2015 is already upon us. Many of us have made New Year resolutions that will only last the first week in January. I thought that it would be fun to list some interesting “Words of Wisdom” to live by for the new year instead of trying to maintain certain New Year's resolutions that most of us probably won’t keep. I have always enjoyed reading thought-provoking quotes. With that in mind, I have put together a list of ten of my favorite quotes about love, life, faith, philosophy, and wisdom as powerful words to live by for 2015. 10. “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” ( Mark Twain ) 9. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” ( Socrates ) 8. “Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.” ( Colin Powell ) 7. “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” ( Billy Sunday ) 6. “Darkness cannot drive out darkne...

Did you find a tablet under your Christmas tree? If you did, you know there’s more to them than meets the eye. There are so many functions that you are performing on a laptop or desk computer that can be done just as easily from a tablet. You can read books, watch TV and movies, listen to music, surf the web, and create documents. Proper training will help you get the most out of your tablet. Whether it was a Kindle, Samsung, HP or Ipad, we can show you how to get the most from your device. The library has several very good resources in our collection to help you: Android Tablets for Dummies by Dan Gookin Android Tablets in Easy Steps by Nick Vandome Galaxy Tab: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla iPad & iPad Mini: Absolute Beginners Guide by James F. Kelly Kindle Fire HDX for Dummies by Steve Weber Kindle Fire Owners’ Manual   by Steve Weber My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 by Craig Johnston Tablet PCs in Easy Steps by Michael Price Teach Yourself Visual...

The other day, a patron requested information on the Memorial Mound in Bessemer. Not being familiar with this particular place, I checked the usual sources such as city directories and our newspaper clipping files. After coming up empty-handed, I turned to one of my favorite resources, the Alabama Secretary of State’s website, specifically the Government Records Inquiry database . While it may not sound exciting, this website is a wonderful way to research local businesses, business owners, or non-profits (churches, civic groups, etc.). Any entity that files for incorporation in Alabama is included in the database which provides the date of incorporation, names of officers, address, status (existing, dissolved, merged, etc.), and type of business. Sometimes businesses file annual reports which can be purchased, along with the papers of incorporation, from the Secretary of State. And did I mention that it’s free? A quick search on Memorial Mound yielded all of the above inform...

Dreaming in French: The Paris Years of Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis by Alice Yaeger Kaplan For generations young Americans have been traveling to Paris, a city renowned for intellectual rigor and cultural refinement, to study and to become themselves. Kaplan’s Dreaming in French looks at the year abroad, in Paris, of three remarkably different young American women who went on to remarkable public careers, each deeply marked by French culture. With the author we look at the historical record of each of these women’s Paris years and begin to get a sense of their young lives. In addition we examine the way their years abroad affected their accomplishments here in the United States and, interestingly, their effect on France. Jackie Kennedy was among the first of the postwar young women to travel to a still impoverished Paris. Initially she was cloistered in a residential school with her fellow upper class American college girls. Soon she was living i...

Resolve to become a poet or just appreciate the art form in 2015 with the help of several Birmingham Public Library programs. All events are free. Bards & Brews , a monthly poetry performance and beer tasting event, will be held on Friday, January 9, at the Central Library . Friday’s program will be a poetry slam and feature craft beer samples from Good People Brewing Co. , courtesy of the BPL Young Professionals . The event will open with live music at 6:30 p.m., and poetry at 7:00 p.m. Brian “Voice Porter” Hawkins will serve as emcee. Slams are held quarterly. Other Bards & Brews sessions are open mic. Light refreshments will be served. Attendees must be 18 years or older to be admitted, and 21 years or older to be served. IDs will be checked. The February Bards & Brews will be Friday, February 6, at Avondale Library , with Grayton Beer Co . This series is funded in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts . For more information, call 226-3670. Gifts of a...

Come and join us at the Woodlawn Library for the musical sounds of S.M.I.T.H. Entertainment, Wednesday, January 14, 4:00-6:00 p.m. The band has been performing and composing music for over a decade. Originating from Birmingham, AL, the band consists of family members (Rogers Sr, Kathy, Rogers Jr, Yolanda, Roderick, Ezella Myron Smith) and Aaron Patton. The band will perform a variety of musical selections from the genres such as Blues, Hip-Hop, R&B, and Gospel. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Pam Jessie Woodlawn Library

The January 9th Bards & Brews will be a Slam at the Central Library. It is $5 to participate, free to attend. Free beer tasting of Good People beer courtesy of BPL Young Professionals. Music and sign ups start at 6:30. First prize $200, Second prize $100 MC: Voice Porter Want to learn more about Slams? Check out Brave new voices (DVD) Poetry slam : the competitive art of performance poetry Words in your face Hey you! C'mere : a poetry slam The February Bards & Brews will be an Open Mic at the Avondale Regional Library. Bards & Brews is funded by the Birmingham Public Library and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.