The Wind Through the Keyhole By Stephen King Scribner 309 pp. First, the background. In between “Christine” and “Misery” and countless other best-sellers, Stephen King wrote seven increasingly lengthy [...]]]>

The Wind Through the Keyhole (via The Christian Science Monitor)

The Wind Through the Keyhole By Stephen King Scribner 309 pp. First, the background. In between “Christine” and “Misery” and countless other best-sellers, Stephen King wrote seven increasingly lengthy novels known as “The Dark Tower” epic, ending with the final volume published in 2004. But, for King…

]]> http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/2012/05/19/book-review-the-wind-through-the-keyhole/feed/ 0 http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/2012/05/19/book-recommendation-all-there-is/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=book-recommendation-all-there-is http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/2012/05/19/book-recommendation-all-there-is/#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 11:23:17 +0000 admin http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/?p=2250

Thanks to a recent Monitor review, I read and enjoyed All There Is, interviews collected by the StoryCorps oral history project, edited by Dave Isay. It is a sweet [...]]]>

Reader recommendation: All There Is (via The Christian Science Monitor)

Thanks to a recent Monitor review, I read and enjoyed All There Is, interviews collected by the StoryCorps oral history project, edited by Dave Isay. It is a sweet and bittersweet look at marriage as a wonderful but serious commitment. It reads very quickly because each interview is a very short chapter…

]]> http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/2012/05/19/book-recommendation-all-there-is/feed/ 0 http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/2012/05/18/paralibrarian-of-the-year-2012-linda-dahlquist/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=paralibrarian-of-the-year-2012-linda-dahlquist http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/2012/05/18/paralibrarian-of-the-year-2012-linda-dahlquist/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 13:29:21 +0000 admin http://www.folnewsmyrna.org/?p=2245 By John N. Berry III

The first person you meet when you go into the library in New Smyrna Beach, FL, is likely to be Linda Dahlquist. It was her idea to be there, near the entrance, with a laptop on her cart to make sure library users could take advantage of the “roving reference” [...]]]> By John N. Berry III

The first person you meet when you go into the library in New Smyrna Beach, FL, is likely to be Linda Dahlquist. It was her idea to be there, near the entrance, with a laptop on her cart to make sure library users could take advantage of the “roving reference” she initiated and delivers there.

“I take reference to the people! Some are a bit too intimidated to approach the reference desk, so I hang out by the front entrance to catch them as they come in the door,” she says.

That is only a tiny sample of the attention customers get from Dahlquist. Her supervisor, Melissa Reynolds, who manages the regional library in New Smyrna Beach and branches in Edgewater and Oak Hill, puts it this way: “When it comes to customer service, there isn’t anyone who comes closer to the ideal than Linda.”

Continue reading on Library Journal

The American Library Association supports libraries and librarians across the country, who face difficult decisions every day about how to allocate scarce resources in order to meet the wide-ranging information needs of their communities.

To guide decisions about what materials to select for a [...]]]> Office for Intellectual Freedom Blog (ALA), May 11, 2012 —

The American Library Association supports libraries and librarians across the country, who face difficult decisions every day about how to allocate scarce resources in order to meet the wide-ranging information needs of their communities.

To guide decisions about what materials to select for a collection, libraries develop selection policies, which outline the principles and priorities they will follow in selecting items for the library. Libraries also strive to be responsive to the requests of community members in choosing materials. Selection is an inclusive process that seeks out those materials that will best satisfy the community’s needs for information, entertainment, and enlightenment.

Recent controversy over the novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” has sparked discussion about the line between selection and censorship in libraries. Where selection decisions are guided by the professional ethics of librarianship – which emphasize inclusion, access, and neutrality – libraries choosing not to purchase materials that fall outside their defined collection policies and needs are not censors. Where partisan disapproval or doctrinal pressure guides libraries’ decisions to select or remove materials, then censorship can result.

Materials like “Fifty Shades of Grey” challenge libraries’ professional ideals of open, equitable, unbiased access to information.

They raise important questions about how libraries can best include and reflect the diversity of ideas in our society – even those which some people find objectionable.

In all circumstances, ALA encourages libraries making decisions about their collections to keep in mind their basic missions and the core values of intellectual freedom and providing access to information.

Kearney is a lecturer, oral historian and author of “Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton, From Hope to Harlem,” “Cotton Field of Dreams” and “Something to Write Home About: Memories from [...]]]> Former Clinton diarist, Janis Kearney will lead Literacy – A Family Affair, a 3-day literacy weekend program in New Smyrna Beach on May 17 to 19.

Kearney is a lecturer, oral historian and author of “Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton, From Hope to Harlem,” “Cotton Field of Dreams” and “Something to Write Home About: Memories from a Presidential Diarist.”

The New Smyrna Beach Regional Library, 1001 S. Dixie Freeway, will host three events:

• Conversation and book signing: Thursday, May 17. Meet the author during a reception at 5:30 p.m. She will discuss her works at 6:30 p.m. and sign books afterward.
• Silent auction: 7 p.m. Friday, May 18. The auction will benefit the Friends of the Library and local literacy programs. To view the items that will be auctioned, visit http://parishnurseministries.org/home/book_fest and click on “Silent auction preview” in the top right corner.
• Panel discussion: 8 p.m. May 18. Kearney will moderate a discussion titled “Do you have a book in you?” The panel will feature local authors Barbara Cameron, author of “A Time for Peace”; Charlie Carlson, author of “Weird Florida”; Mary Clay, author of “Murder in the Stacks”; Michelle Donice, author of “The Other Side of Through”; Fannie Minson Hudson, author of “History of New Smyrna Black Businesses”; and Yvonne J. Peterson, author of “The Bichon Run.” The authors will sign books afterward.

Kearney also will lead two programs at the Alonzo “Babe” James Community Center, 201 N. Myrtle Ave.:

• Children’s book-making and publishing workshop: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19. The workshop is open to 25 students in grades four through six.
• Family reading and literacy activities: 2 to 4 p.m. May 19.

All events are free and open to the public. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. To reserve a spot at one of the library programs, call 386-424-2910, ext. 102; email mjnelson@co.volusia.fl.us; or visit the reference desk. To make a reservation for one of the community center programs, call 386-244-7801.

Their debut album, “Decisions,” was released in 2002 to great reviews. Billboard Magazine wrote, “These gals are simply wonderful.” Their [...]]]> The Beu Sisters, a pop-rock trio, have appeared on numerous movie and television soundtracks including “The Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack,” “Because of Winn Dixie,” “Ella Enchanted,” “Smallville,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Charmed.”

Their debut album, “Decisions,” was released in 2002 to great reviews. Billboard Magazine wrote, “These gals are simply wonderful.” Their latest album, “A Collection of Beu-tiful Music,” was released earlier this year.

The sisters opened for Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken on a 32-city tour in 2004. For more information about the artists, visit www.beusisters.com.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, May 12th

Seating is limited. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 386-424-2910, ext. 102; emailing mjnelson@co.volusia.fl.us; or stopping by the reference desk.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Library. For more information about the friends group, visit www.folnewsmyrna.org. For more information about the library, visit www.volusialibrary.org.

●    Computer basics: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 2. This lecture-based course is for adults with little or no computer experience. Participants will learn about the physical components of a computer, get acquainted with terminology, [...]]]> Adults can explore technology, vegan lifestyles and Florida landscaping at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library in May. Upcoming programs include:

●    Computer basics: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 2. This lecture-based course is for adults with little or no computer experience. Participants will learn about the physical components of a computer, get acquainted with terminology, and explore a few basic Internet searching tips.

●    Email and attachments: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 9. Learn how to get a free email address, compose messages, add pictures and documents, and more in this lecture-based workshop.

●    Raw foods: 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 9. Raw chef Olive Mackey will discuss the principles and health benefits of a raw vegan lifestyle. She’ll offer tips on where to buy the freshest produce and how to prepare it, then demonstrate a simple raw-food recipe and offer samples.

●    E-books and e-readers: Monday, May 14. Learn how to use the library’s downloadable media options including Freegal’s free and legal music downloads and OverDrive’s popular audio books and e-books. The workshops will focus on Nooks at 9:30 a.m. and Kindles at 10:30 a.m.

●    Basics of landscape design: 11 a.m. Monday, May 21. Ed Meiser, a Volusia County master gardener, will discuss the planning and placement of Florida-friendly plants. He’ll offer helpful hints and provide free landscaping information from the University of Florida.

Registration is required for all programs except the landscape-design workshop. To make reservations, stop by the reference desk or call 386-424-2910, ext. 104.

How do we define an era or a generation? Presidents? Wars just completed, being fought or on the horizon? Or maybe it’s cultural markers like popular music, TV shows or movies. That’s a fair enough method and gives us common ground on which to discuss or debate exactly what happened [...]]]> Gary Broughman’s Indie Book Watch

The Shoebox by Stephanie Debry

How do we define an era or a generation? Presidents? Wars just completed, being fought or on the horizon? Or maybe it’s cultural markers like popular music, TV shows or movies. That’s a fair enough method and gives us common ground on which to discuss or debate exactly what happened in those times. But a top down, common denominator approach has its limitations. It misses many of the nuances better viewed from the ground up. Daily life—families and individuals —is “where the rubber meets the road,” as one tire maker of the babyboom era liked to say.

I’ve been delighted recently to read several memoirs which tell the inside story of real families during the post World War II decades of the 50s and 60s, families of the so-called babyboom generation. One of my favorites is The Shoebox by Stephanie DeBry. Subtitled Growing up with America in the Babyboom South, The Shoebox exposes the inner joys and struggles of a working class, white Georgia family fighting ever day to make their mark on America’s expanding landscape. Fortunately for Ms. DeBry and her readers, she comes from a family of characters and brings them on stage from every angle. They never fail to surprise and entertain.

Morgan Blake, the “daddy” of the Shoebox story, returns from naval service in the South Pacific to marry Elizabeth, have babies, and together find their place in a country that’s buzzing with optimism, but is still a land in which opportunity must be sought out and seized. The Blakes are an eccentric bunch but they are also resilient. Morgan stumbles often, moving impulsively from one job to another, trying to find his way up. When he falls, Elizabeth is there to pick him up.

Morgan’s five children—four girls and a boy—simply adore him. Yes, five children. As with most couples in those days, they couldn’t seem to stop themselves—no matter how stretched their finances were. They worked hard at making life comfortable and tried to give their kids a “Christian upbringing.” Whatever they lacked in material stuff, Morgan replaced with contagious energy and song, leading evening gatherings around the piano. Aunts and uncles would join them on the weekends and when they drank too much it just added to the raucous atmosphere. Of course, that was before they got so broke they had to sell the piano.

Feeding a family of seven was a challenge in those days and probably still is. On some days the cupboards were bare. Ms. DeBry tells it well and shows it all: the excitement when things went smoothly, and the stress of hard times when they were forced to accept help from other family members—but never from the government! Each of Ms. DeBry’s siblings gets their time in her spotlight, and somehow their stories coalesce to create an image of a family with a remarkable past and an optimistic future.

Most of us have some connection to the babyboom era—whether as a parent, a babyboomer, or the child or grandchild of a boomer. Even if your family was nothing like the feisty Blakes, you will recognize the America of those times as told in the Shoebox. Maybe you’ll even see a little of yourself.

The Shoebox is available online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, and upon request in most bookstores. The 278-page paperback is priced at $14.99. Stephanie DeBry lives and works in New Smyrna Beach. If you would like a signed copy of The Shoebox write to me at chbmedia@gmail.com and I will help.

Visit Stephanie’s website to read selected chapters from the book.
Read Views, Stephanie’s inspirational blog including a recent posting, Scribbling in the Dark.

Poetry as performance art has become a hot commodity in recent years. You could trace it back to a variety of sources: the beat poets of the 50s, public readings by famous poets like Robert Frost—some of them recorded—or to the slam phenomenon which began in the 1980s. However it [...]]]> Gary Broughman’s Indie Book Watch

Poetry as performance art has become a hot commodity in recent years. You could trace it back to a variety of sources: the beat poets of the 50s, public readings by famous poets like Robert Frost—some of them recorded—or to the slam phenomenon which began in the 1980s. However it started, when you find poetry being read in public, you find an atmosphere of joy and eager anticipation.

I had the opportunity myself to perform at Chicago’s Green Mill Jazz Club, where slam inventor Marc Smith plays host, but I’ve also read in slightly more sedate settings in Orlando, Winter Park and Port Orange. Wherever one goes to read, you are sure to find creative artists for whom, as Edgar Allen Poe said, “poetry is more a passion than a purpose.”

Poets of Central Florida

All in all, Love and Other Passions is an outstanding volume of excellent short poems ranging from one to two pages each. All the poets included practice the craft on a regular basis, and most have been published previously in journals, magazines, other anthologies or their own books. The majority are members of local or state poetry groups or societies. At least a half-dozen hold doctoral degrees of one stripe or another, which, I’ve often joked, is something I don’t hold against them. The point is that this is not a collection of neophytes. These are fine poems which will touch the heart, challenge the mind, entertain, and leave readers nodding in agreement with the revealed wisdom contained in the words.

The book was launched March 5th with a gala event in Winter Park and the public unveiling continued Tuesday, March 20th when the Tomoka Poets hosted a reception and readings at the Java Jungle on Clyde Morris in Port Orange.

Poems for Love and Other Passions were selected by a committee consisting of Russ Golata, longtime host of the First Mondays Meetup Group, which boasts more than five hundred members in the greater Orlando area, and by BJ Alligood of Tomoka Poets. Yours truly also served in selecting the best of the best.

The first printing of four hundred sold out quickly, but copies can be ordered for $11.99 online at Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com.