Saturday, December 26, 2009

“Curl up with a good book - Iowa City Press-Citizen” plus 1 more

“Curl up with a good book - Iowa City Press-Citizen” plus 1 more

Curl up with a good book - Iowa City Press-Citizen

Posted: 26 Dec 2009 01:15 AM PST

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As for a personal favorite read from the past year, Craig recommends trying "Unaccustomed Earth," by Jhumpa Lahiri.

"It is a book of short stories, which are not usually my favorite, but these are all tied together with a theme, and three of the eight create an ongoing saga that spans 30 years," Craig said. "The characters are all Bengali immigrants, or children of Bengali immigrants, to the United States. The tension created by cultural identities and loyalties run throughout the stories."

More book reviews and suggestions from Craig and many other staff members at the Iowa City Public Library can be found on the library's blog space, http://staffpicks.icpl.org/.

Dee Crowner, director of the North Liberty Public Library, is a fan of fantasy and science fiction authors, including Mercedes Lackey, Laurell Hamilton and Ann McCaffrey.

Oftentimes, it only takes reading the blurbs on the back cover of a new book series to get her going, Crowner said.

"Once I'm hooked (on a book), I have to read the whole series," Crowner said. "Fantasy and science fiction don't let me down."

Although the fantasy genre has gained popularity over the past several years -- especially book series focused on vampires -- Crowner said she is not entirely sure why authors and readers alike have taken to the genre so much.

"Before the 'Twilight' series came along, people who were romance writers started writing about time travel and vampires," she said. "They're not real violent -- there's humor, romance and action going on."

With movies and television series now featuring vampires and other fantasy elements, Crowner said she is amazed at how long the supposed "trend" has lasted.

"The genre has gotten a lot better -- the writing has improved remarkably over the last five or 10 years, which helps, she said.

When Crowner is in the car, she enjoys listening to mysteries on tape, such as the "Alex Delaware" series by Jonathan Kellerman and the "Stone Barrington" novels by Stuart Woods, she said. She also likes reading J.D. Robb's "Eve Dallas" books, which she called a combination of mystery and fantasy.

The North Liberty Community Library offers a variety of programs for area readers listed on its Web site, www.northlibertylibrary.org, including a monthly book club hosted on the last Tuesday of each month.

Crowner invites community members to join the library's Sociable Seniors group on Monday mornings at 10 for coffee and discussion. The conversations can cover anything from books people are reading to things going on in the area or world, Crowner said.

If these activities aren't enough inspiration to pick up a book, visit a local library or bookstore to find something that will interest you. When the winter weather is threatening outdoors, finding refuge in a good book nestled in a warm place sometimes can be the best defense.

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SIUC history professor Bean compiles new writings on race in the U.S. - The Southern

Posted: 25 Dec 2009 11:42 PM PST

CARBONDALE — Southern Illinois University Carbondale history professor Jonathan Bean has a new anthology of writings on race and immigration.

The new book, "Race and Liberty in America: The Essential Reader," published by The Independent In-stitute with The University Press of Kentucky, offers writings about race, racism, freedom and civil rights, ranging from 1776 to 2007.

The collection represents the "classical liberal" point of view, one which Bean said is not given expression by either of the two major political parties in today's United States. Yet, the authors in Bean's anthology are not obscure.

The collection includes writing from Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as selections from Supreme Court rulings, state constitutions and newspaper editorials.

"This is the first collection of writings on race and immigration to document the role of the classical liberal tradition," Bean said. "Yet many Americans share these values."

Bean said he has wanted to edit such an anthology for a long time, motivated in part by his desire to show students the Civil Rights Movement was not a single moment in history or one that involved only one group of people.

The anthology includes writings pertaining to Native Americans, such as annual reports from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Japanese Americans, such as editorials in the Chicago Tribune opposing Japanese-American internment during World War II; and Hispanics, such as a selection from a book written by Linda Chavez, formerly staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The book garnered national attention for Bean. His radio interviews about the book include the Rob Schilling Show in Charlottesville, W.Va.; the WQKR "Good Morning Show," in Nashville, Tenn.; the Eagle Forum Live, with Phyllis Schlafly, carried by 50 radio stations nationwide; the "Upfront with Tony Cox" show, carried by National Public Radio; and the Terry Leahy Show, carried by several stations out of Omaha, Neb., to name just a few.

Positive book reviews include comments from peers in academia and others such as Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, senior judicial analyst for Fox News Channel; Stephen Thernstrom, Winthrop Research Professor of History at Harvard University; Ward Connerly, chairman of American Civil Rights Institute, and Alveda C. King, founder and chair of King for America, and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s nieces.

Bean is a research fellow at Independent Institute and the recipient of the Henry Adams Prize for Best Book of the Year from the Society for History in the Federal Government, and the Herman E. Kroos Prize from the Business History Conference.

Bean is also the author of "Big Government and Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration," and "Beyond the Broker State: Federal Policies Toward Small Business," as well as many journal articles and editorials.

For more information about the book, visit www.independent.org/publications/books.

Andrea Hahn is a staff writer with University Communications at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

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