Birmingham Public Library Blog

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows , a delightful novel of letters beginning with writer Juliet Ashton,who in January 1946,writes to her publisher to say that she is tired of covering the “light-hearted” side of the war. Later, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams, a Guernsey Island farmer, who has discovered her name in the front cover of a Charles Lamb novel. He would like to order more of Charles Lamb's writings by post. Dawsey tells her of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a unique book club created by a few individuals during the German occupation as a way to protect its members from arrest. Juliet Ashton becomes more absorbed in Guernsey and its inhabitants. She learns of their struggles, their hopes, their fears, and the lives of these individuals are soon intertwined. They share common interests and new friendships develop. Book club members write letters to Juliet describing how reading has made a diff...

Been to the multiplex lately? Despite the harsh economy, many of us are flocking to the cinema's latest offerings including those movies based on books like Twilight or short stories like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button . It is hard not to compare the book and the film adaptation. Reading the book is almost always better. When watching a movie, you typically miss out on details. Many details are cut due to time or excluded due to the "director’s vision”. It is not unusual for entire characters to be cut out of a film. Also, reading the book allows your imagination to run. As you read, you get to delve into characters’ thoughts allowing you to feel as though you are on the journey with them. Go ahead see the movie, but also consider reading the book.

Contagious , a new Scott Sigler horror novel, is the bloody sequel to Sigler 's masterful thriller Infected . Booklist calls Contagious , "A definite must-read, whether you’ve read Infected or not." Contagious will be released on December 30. Click here to reserve a copy today.

You get another chance to join in on WORD UP!, the county-wide spoken word contest for high school students. The deadline has been extended until Friday, January 9. High school teachers or principals please call us at 226-3670 or email us at hm@bham.lib.al.us to let us know your school would like to participate. Details about the contest may be found here . Photo of 2008 WORD UP! winner Erika Wade

All locations of the Birmingham Public Library will be closed December 24-December 26 and January 1-January 2. Happy Holidays! P.S. You can always visit BPL's online library which is open 24/7 at www.bplonline.org .

Calhoun County native Rick Bragg has been named the 2009 recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year, the Alabama Writers’ Forum announced recently. Bragg will receive the award at the Alabama Writers Symposium in Monroeville on May 1 at the annual luncheon. The conference will meet April 30-May 2. “I was honored to hear I had been chosen to receive the Harper Lee Award, named for a writer whose book, and its message, have spanned decades,” said Bragg. “I am also honored to join a list of people I have admired and respected all my writing life, people who have helped establish this state as a place where good writers just seem to come out of the dirt.” Bragg is the best selling and critically acclaimed author of Southern non-fiction, including a trio of books on his Calhoun County family that have become anthems of working-class Americans— All Over but the Shoutin’ , Ava's Man , and The Prince of Frogtown . The books, award winners in both...

“Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World,” a traveling exhibition opening at the Birmingham Public Library on January 5, 2009, tells the remarkable story of the man who began his life as a poor printer’s apprentice and ended it as a revered elder statesman known throughout the world for his wisdom, wit, and resourcefulness. Benjamin Franklin ’s achievements in diplomacy, science, philanthropy and other fields profoundly influenced the path of a new nation and continue to inspire us more than three hundred years after his birth. Benjamin Franklin’s accomplishments were the result of a lifelong dedication to improving the world around him. “I would rather have it said, ‘He lived usefully,’ than ‘He died rich,” he once wrote to his mother. Franklin also placed great value on self-improvement and believed that integrity and moral responsibility were the foundations for a successful life and a strong community. “Franklin has a particular resonance in twenty-first century America,” b...

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