Now Available - Author Alerts!

Thanks to the Carnegie-Stout Library Foundation, we have launched a new service for C-SPL users - Author Alerts!

With Author Alerts, you can be the first to know when the library has a new book by your favorite author, new movie with your favorite actor or a new album by your favorite artist. You'll be notified by email or text (your choice!) with a link to the library's catalog to place a hold on the item.

Signing up is easy! On our homepage, go to the E-Branch Library menu and select Author Alerts (or, click here). Click the Start Here button and then select how you would like to be notified, by email or by text (for texts, standard messaging rates apply). You can also enter a screen name, which will allow you to share author lists and reviews.

On the next page, select what materials you would like to be notified about - books, DVD, music, etc. You can change these settings at any time.

Now you're ready to create your first alert! Just enter the first and last name of an author, actor or artist and click continue. If there are multiple matches in the library's catalog, you'll be asked to select the correct name. For instance, I entered Suzanne Collins and there are several close matches. In this case, I've selected the option with the most titles, since I'd like to know when the library adds anything by her (click to enlarge):

Once you've chosen your first alert, you'll be taken to your main alerts page. This is where you can find and add additional authors and see what other users are adding as well. You'll also be able to review the alerts you've signed up for and edit or delete them. You can also change how you receive your alerts by choosing the Edit Settings options at the top of the screen.

If you'd like to see what else the library has by your favorite author/artist/actor, click on the name and you'll be taken to the library's online catalog.

As always, if you have any questions about this or any other library service, you can email us at yourlibrarian@dubuque.lib.ia.us or give a call at (563) 589-4225 ext. 2224. 

Bestsellers for the week of November 11th

It's a good time to be a rock star with a book, it seems. Over past few weeks, more and more memoirs and biographies by and about rock 'n' roll stars have appeared on the bestsellers list. This week, for instance, four artists have spots on the top 10:

Bruce: The Innocence, the Darkness, the Rising  by Peter A. Carlin, an authorized and painstakingly researched biography of the Boss. Drawing on exclusive interviews with members of the E Street Band, including Clarence Clemons’ final interview, and unrestricted conversations with Springsteen’s family, friends, manager Jon Landau, and Springsteen himself, Carlin gives his life the definitive treatment. Carlin also wrote a similarly sweeping biography of Paul McCartney - Paul McCartney: A Life - in 2009.

Rod: The Autobiography, the self-penned story of two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee's rise to fame that recounts his youth, his years with on tour with The Jeff Beck Group and The Faces and his three marriages and decades as a solo performer.

Waging Heavy Peace: A Hippie Dream by Neil Young. The early anticipated memoir recalls his childhood in Ontario, to his first gigs with the Squires as they traveled Canada in his 1948 Buick hearse, his spur-of-the-moment move to California in 1966 and the brief but influential time with Buffalo Springfield to his solo career and work with Crazy Horse and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Young also delves into his personal life, recounting the influence his wife and three children have had and finally coming to rest in the contemplative natural beauty of Hawaii.

There have been a few other biographies written about Young, including Shakey: Neil Young's Biography by Jimmy McDonough (2002), Neil Young Nation: A Quest, an Obsession, and a True Story by Kevin Chong (2005) and Neil Young: The Definitive History by Mike Evans (2012), but this is the first memoir penned by the artist himself.

Who I Am: A Memoir by Pete Townshend - The lead guitarist and founding memoir of The Who tells the story of his life in this memoir - a book that has taken him nearly a decade to write. A candid recollection of his difficult childhood in West London, the beginnings of his career with Roger Daltry and his struggles with the trappings of drugs, sex and fortune that inventively come with the lifestyle of a rock star.

Last week also saw Peter Criss' Makeup to Breakup: My Life In and Out of KISS, In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran by the band's co-founder John Taylor and How Music Works by David Byrne, which is less of an autobiography than an exploration of the evolution and meaning of music.

For a full list of this week's fiction and nonfiction bestsellers, visit us on Pinterest!

Books and Music

Everyone is a little bit different when it comes to reading. Maybe you have a favorite chair to curl up in with a good book. Maybe you like to read for an hour before sleep each night. Maybe you reread an old favorite every year.

Personally, I like to have music playing. To be honest, I have music playing almost constantly, but when it comes to reading, I'm particular. When I reread Jane Eyre, I like to put on classical piano, or when I read the Beka Cooper series by Tamora Pierce, I had Sara Bareilles' Kaleidoscope Heart on repeat.

Sometimes it's a careful match for tone and mood, and sometimes the music becomes entangled with the memories of the book I was reading at the time. Like when a song comes on the radio and you try to remember which car ad you heard it on first, but more pleasant.

Sometimes an author will provide you with a soundtrack. Jodi Picoult's Sing You Home comes with a recording of original music. On her website, you can see the songs E.L. James listened to while writing her popular 50 Shades trilogy, and now EMI will be releasing albums of classical music to enjoy while you read 50 Shades of Grey.

If you've never seen them, you should check out Flavorwire's Literary Mixtape posts. These clever posts imagine what a favorite fictional character might have on their ipod, and cover a diversity of literature from Arya Stark to Moby Dick (yes, the white whale). And if the 50 Shades fans don't yet have enough musical variety, you might enjoy checking out Flavorwire's Mixtape for Lady Chatterley.

Similarly, blogger and journalist Maria Popova pairs a literary quote with a piece of music on her blog, Literary Jukebox.

Sometimes musicians find their inspiration in literature. You may've heard of the wizard rock or wrock movement. These bands formed around their love of the Harry Potter series. With band names like Harry and the Potters or The Whomping Willows, these readers share their love through their creativity.

More main stream groups will look to writers of prose when creating their music, or even for their name. Take the group Steely Dan, whose name comes from an *ahem* character in William S. burroughs' Naked Lunch. Or Glen Hansard's Come Away to the Water, which was inspired by The Hunger Games (though Maroon 5 are the performers on the soundtrack).

And of course, the love goes the other way, as anyone familiar with The Rock Bottom Remainders can tell you!

So how about you? Any favorite literary/musical pairings? Or must you have the peace of a silent house to properly enjoy a book?

Spotlight on Ireland

Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, when we Americans celebrate our Irish heritage, or at least the possibility that we might be related to or know someone with Irish heritage. Ireland is a beautiful country with a rich history that goes far beyond the rather American custom of green beer.

We've gathered together some of the materials available here at Carnegie-Stout to help you celebrate St. Patrick's with a good book, some Irish food, or even by planning a visit to Ireland. Be sure to stop in to the library to check out the display on the first floor!


Irish Food
Recipes for a Perfect Marriage by Morag Prunty
A touching story of marriage and food, with Irish charm and recipes. Tressa has doubts about her recent marriage and turns to the recipes of her grandmother Bernadine for comfort, and discovers that Bernadine's seemingly perfect marriage had its own share of rough patches.

• Irish Pub Cookbook 641.59417 JOH
• 30 Years at Ballymaloe: a celebration of the world-renowned cooking school with over 100 new recipes 641.59415 ALL
• A Taste of Ireland 641.59415 WHI

Irish Culture
Jig DVD 793.3194 JIG
Features the remarkable story of the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships, held in March 2010 in Glasgow. Thousands of dancers, their families, and teachers from around the globe descend upon Glasgow for one drama-filled week.

• Dublin: a cultural history 941.835 KIL
• A Guide to Irish Mythology 290.162 SMY
• The Traditional Irish Wedding 395.2209 HAG
• A Treasury of Irish Folklore 398.2 COL
• Irish-English / English-Irish Dictionary 491.623 IRI
• Danny Boy : the beloved Irish ballad 782.43 MCC
• Celtic Woman DVD 782.42 CEL
• The Best of Riverdance DVD 793.3194 BES

Travel Ireland
Historic Pubs of Dublin DVD 914.1835
Frank McCourt tells the story of the city through its most historic pubs, dating back hundreds of years. In addition to the legendary drinking establishments, viewers will learn more about must-see attractions like Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Grafton Street, Jameson Distillery, Guinness Brewery, the city's beautiful parks, and more.

• Back Roads Ireland 914.15 BAC
• Rick Steves' Ireland 914.15 RIC
• On an Irish Island 941.96 KAN
• Fodor's 2012 Ireland 914.15 FOD
• Cycle Touring in Ireland 796.64 COO
• Ireland DVD 914.15

Explore Your Irish Heritage
Road to McCarthy: around the world in search of Ireland by Pete McCarthy 909 MCC
Travel writer Pete McCarthy embarks on a journey to learn about his own family and discovers how far flung the McCarthy descendants are. Witty, offbeat, and insightful, Mr. McCarthy's journey takes genealogical research in delightfully unexpected directions.

• Tracing Your Irish Family History 929.10720415 (Gen)
• In Search of Your British & Irish Roots 929.10892041 BAX (Gen Ref)
• How the Irish Saved Civilization 941.501 CAH (Lg. Print)
• The Irish Americans 973.049162 DOL
• The Dictionary of Irish Family Names 929.42 GRE (Gen Ref)

Irish Literature

• Cecelia Ahern, author of whimsical contemporary romantic fiction
• John Banville, winner of the Man Booker Prize in 2005, his fiction is haunting, descriptive, and dives deep into the minds of his characters
• Sebastian Barry, his novels typically have a historical setting and an intricate plot, also a poet, his writing is lyrical
• Samuel Beckett, a Nobel Laureate, novelist and playwright with an experimental style and a dark sense of humor
• Maeve Binchy, the author of heartwarming stories of life in a changing world with a focus on her characters' relationships, be sure to check out our Maeve Binchy read alikes
• Eoin Colfer, an author of fast-paced tales that feature adventure and humor, best known for the Artemis Fowl series
• Anne Enright, an author of haunting, character-driven novels and short fiction
• James Joyce, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, his stream of contagiousness novel Ulysses is the basis for the yearly Bloomsday Celebration
• Marian Keyes, an author of funny, conversational chick lit, often with a Dublin setting
• Pat McCabe, his novels are offbeat, darkly humorous, character-driven, dialect-rich, and sometimes creepy
• Bram Stoker, the author of the classic vampire story Dracula
• Jonathan Swift, a satirical essayist and the author of Gulliver's Travels
• Colm Toibin, an author of melancholy, character-driven novels and short fiction
• Oscar Wilde, a poet, playwright, and novelist known for his sharp wit and the troubles of his personal life
• William Butler Yeats, Nobel Laureate, poet, and champion of Irish literature

Please stop by the Recommendations Desk on the first floor, check out NoveList Plus on the library's website, or visit W. 11th & Bluff next week for more reading suggestions. Or submit a Personal Recommendations request, and we'll create a reading list just for you!

February 29th, Leap Day

Happy Leap Day! February 29th rolls around once every four years (more or less), but what can one do to celebrate?

Tradition has it that this is the one day when women may propose marriage to men. some locations extend this power throughout a leap year. Think of it as an alternative to the annual Sadie Hawkins Day.

Turning down a woman's proposal poses consequences for the popular man. Depending on where he's asked, the lady spurned is owed either a new dress, a pair of silk gloves, or a bit of cash.

Those over 21 might be interested in this 2008 article from the Wall Street Journal, which offers recipes for Leap Year Cocktails. A couple of cocktails might improve Amy Adams' 2010 film, Leap Year, which does have a gorgeous Irish setting, even if the plot is terribly silly.

Books and More by Leap Year Babies

• Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
• Science-fiction and fantasy author Tim Powers
• Jimmy Dorsey of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra
• Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini
• Pirates of Penzance - I suggest you give "When you had left our pirate fold" a listen today.

Singles Awareness Day

Across the nation today (and tomorrow) people will be celebrating Singles Awareness Day or S.A.D. The alternative holiday for anyone not in the mood for Valentine's.

We here at Carnegie-Stout have put together a display of books and movies for S.A.D. (and a romantic display too) Unfortunately that display doesn't include 6-time Grammy winner Adele's wonderful break up CD, 21, but you can place a hold in the catalog. I also recommend Sara Bareilles' Kaleidoscope Heart for some great post-breakup music. You can also check out the catalog for our collection of blues music.

What gifts are appropriate for S.A.D.? Popular options include treating yourself to some fancy chocolate, or going out for a nice dinner with friends. But I think the Bronx Zoo's holiday fundraiser might be a nice fit. This year you can give the gift of naming one of their Madagascar hissing cockroaches after the person of your choice: www.bronxzoo.com/roach

I'll leave you with this link to Boing Boing and a vintage book advertisement: "Why is it more interesting to spend an evening with this book than a beautiful woman?"

Poinsettia Day

Photo: Poinsettia by maaco

Every year Carnegie-Stout receives a cheerful delivery from Leisure Services: Poinsettias! If you stop by the library this December you'll notice their bright red blooms sharing joy throughout the building.

Today, December 12th, just so happens to be Poinsettia Day, so what better time to share some facts and tips on these seasonal favorites? Well, perhaps December 21st, the date for this year's Poinsettia Bowl, when the TCU Horned Frogs will play football against the Louisianan Tech Bulldogs. Those aren't local teams though, so we'll stick with today.

One of the most common misconceptions is that Poinsettias (Euphorbia Pucherrima) are deadly poisonous. While it is a terrible idea to eat them because their sap can cause irritation of the skin, or vomiting, it's safe to have a poinsettia in a house with pets or small children. You can read more about poinsettia care and their Aztec origins at the University of Illinois Extension's Poinsettia Pages.

If you're concerned about your ability to care for a poinsettia, never fear! Carnegie-Stout has several books with tips on keeping house plants of all types happy and healthy:

The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual (635.9 PLE) Poinsettias on page 98

How to Grow Practically Everything (635 ALL) Poinsettias on page 393

Indoor Plants (635.965 COU) Poinsettias on page 83

And I highly recommend that you name your Poinsettia "Percy," just for luck.

Most digital audiobooks now iPod compatible

Most of our downloadable audiobooks are now iPod compatible, including many WMA files. All that's needed is a quick upgrade to OverDrive Media Console v3.2. Click on the following link for more info: http://dbqsioux.lib.overdrive.com/

Commanding Performance

From BookLetters:

"LA Times columnist Steve Lopez sensed there was something different about Nathaniel Ayers. For one thing, he played his violin with an uncommon intensity—though it had only two strings. Over time, Lopez, the readers of his newspaper column and a team of mental health professionals helped the Julliard-trained Ayers return to a more stable existence. The movie adaptation of The Soloist, Lopez’s account of the story, opens April 24 and stars Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr."

The Curious Case of Bob Dylan

The movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button received 13 Oscar nominations today, including nominations for best picture, best director and best actor for leading man Brad Pitt. The Academy Awards will be presented February 22 at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.

When I first saw the trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a historical romance about a man who ages backwards, I thought it was based on Andrew Sean Greer's excellent 2004 novel, The Confessions of Max Tivoli, also a historical romance about a man who ages backwards. But it's not, y'all!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is based on the classic 1922 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, while the totally unrelated The Confessions of Max Tivoli was inspired in part by Bob Dylan's 1964 song, My Back Pages.

Author Andrew Sean Greer explains: "When I began my book in early 2001, I had never heard of Fitzgerald’s story or the movie . . . . The idea of man aging backwards is as ancient as literature–it turns up as early as Plato, and even Fitzgerald seems to have acknowledged Twain and Butler. My own inspiration was Bob Dylan’s 'My Back Pages' and T.H. White’s Merlin; I would be happy to acknowledge F. Scott Fitzgerald, but I had never heard of his story!" . . . Huh!

Intriguingly, a Japanese-language cover of Dylan's song "My Back Pages" is included in the soundtrack of the 2003 movie Masked and Anonymous, a film which features, along with Dylan and many others, Mickey Rourke, who, like Brad Pitt, was nominated today for best actor for The Wrestler. Weird!

Moreover, Cate Blanchett, the actress who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Bob Dylan in the 2007 movie I'm Not There, also stars in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Hard to believe, eh?

Of course, none of this really means anything, other than Carnegie-Stout Public Library has a lot of cool books and movies to check out.

~ Mike, Adult Services

Best Scene from Gilda

Rita Hayworth "puts the blame on Mame."

MP3 Players Ready to Check Out

Are you interested in Carnegie-Stout Public Library's new downloadable audiobooks and music, but you don't have an MP3 player? Hey, no problem. Just check out one of our new MP3 players.

Our sleek Creative Zen Stones can be checked out for 3 weeks at a time. Each player includes a USB cable, rechargable battery, a silicone cover with belt clip, and printed instructions. You can use your own headphones, or we'll sell you a pair of earbuds for one dollar.

To check out an MP3 player, please visit the Library Circulation Desk , or call us at 563-589-4225 option #3 for more information.

Bluesman Graphic Novel

All three Bluesman books, a graphic-novel trilogy by Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo, are now available at Carnegie-Stout Public Library.

This Depression-era story is about a blues guitarist implicated in a triple murder. The story is structured like a traditional twelve-bar blues song, and is beautifully illustrated in a dark, woodcut-like style.

OverDrive Downloadable Audiobooks and Music

With Carnegie-Stout Public Library's new OverDrive service, you can browse and search hundreds of great audiobook and music titles and download them to your personal PC or laptop, transfer them to a portable mp3 player, or burn to CDs for your listening pleasure anywhere, anytime. All that's needed is a computer, an Internet connection, and an eligible library card from Carnegie-Stout Public Library. Try it, it's easy!

Click here to start using OverDrive Downloadable Audiobooks and Music

Rainy Day Macaroni

My four-year-old daughter R.J. has learned how to operate our stereo. R.J.'s favorite CD is Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, which is OK with me, especially since my mother-in-law hates Bob Dylan. It is disconcerting, though, when R.J. sings the lyrics to "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" at our dinner table over her plate of macaroni and cheese.

I thought R.J. might like to see Dylan on television, so I checked out Carnegie-Stout Public Library's copy of Martin Scorsese's documentary, No Direction Home. As soon as Dylan appeared on screen, glassy-eyed and howling in a clip from his infamous 1965 UK tour, R.J. shouted, "Ahh! Turn it off! I don't like it!" My wife Maggie later spotted the following blurb about kids' reactions to Dylan: "Bob Dylan Considered 'Weird Man' At Grandson's School."

Unlike R.J., Maggie and I were very impressed by No Direction Home. It's better than other music documentaries we'd seen recently, like The U.S. vs. John Lennon or This Machine Kills Fascists: The Woody Gutherie Story. And there are a lot of interesting similarities between No Direction Home and our favorite Scorsese movie, Raging Bull, the 1980 drama starring Robert De Niro as boxer Jake La Motta.

I'm eager to watch Don't Look Back, D.A. Pennebaker's 1967 documentary about Dylan. I'm also interested in Festival, Murray Lerner’s 1967 documentary about Dylan and the Newport Folk Festival. Hopefully Festival is as good as Jazz on a Summer’s Day, an earlier film about the Newport Jazz Festival. Another Lerner movie, The Other Side of the Mirror, will be released on DVD this coming October 30, 2007.

Todd Haynes' new movie I'm Not There should be available on DVD early next year. In this "unconventional biopic," seven different actors, including Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Christian Bale, and Cate Blanchett, each play Bob Dylan at various stages of his life.

Why is there so much interest in Bob Dylan? Perhaps for the same reasons that kids think Dylan is weird or why he bothers my mother-in-law. Dylan is weird, in a "mysteriously strange or fantastic" kind of way. If you don't believe me, call the Library Information Desk at 563-589-4225 option #4 , reserve some of the DVDs listed above, and judge for yourself.

~ Mike, Adult Services Librarian