Sarah Recommends...

Zombies Calling by Faith Erin Hicks

click here to place a hold on this great GN!

Are you ready for a zombie invasion?
Joss is. A college student studying for exams, Joss is more interested in watching her favorite zombie flicks than memorizing mind-numbing facts and figures. But when zombies invade campus, suddenly all of the time she’s spent watching zombie movies matters a lot more than any time spent over books in the library.
Joss knows she can save herself and protect her friends by following the rules of zombie movies, but things take a turn for the worse when they break the number one rule: Do not leave the mall! Armed only with a spork and newly obtained, totally rockin’ combat skills (another rule of zombie movies), will Joss prevail against the ravenous hordes? At least she’s not scared. Zombies wanting to eat your brains vs. student loan debt? Well, student loans are definitely more frightening!
Hicks’ black and white inked artwork is drawn in a busy, expressive style that moves the story along quickly while providing enough detail to really get a handle on the characters. This is a fun, quick read. You’ll enjoy plenty of action with a little political and social commentary thrown in, as well as some jabs at zombie movie conventions.
Also check out Hicks’ website [link to http://www.faitherinhicks.com/zombies/ ] for the original Zombies Calling comic and more of her fantastic work.

Post your book recommendation for an ASRP prize slip!

The Middleton Public Library Adult Summer Reading Program has added an additional way to enter a prize slip for our $100 Book Sense gift certificate (there will be lots of other smaller--but really good!-- prizes, too, for people when we do the drawing on Friday, July 31!).

If you enter a blog entry here on a good book that you recommend & include your full name, you can stop by the Reference Desk and fill out an extra prize entry slip.

For more information about the Adult Summer Reading Program, stop by the library's Reference Desk, email mid@scls.lib.wi.us , or call 827-7403.

Ever heard of Esperanto the "universal language?"

In the Land of Invented Languages: Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build a Perfect Language by Arika Okrent

“Requests for information on Esperanto will be answered with a form letter prepared by the Library Director. There is no Esperanto library in Middleton.” -- Middleton Public Library Reference Services Policy

The first Esperanto grammar, published in 1887, introduced what was meant to be a universal language to help bridge international differences. In the just over five years I have worked here, I’ve only had to field one inquiry about Middleton’s no-longer-in-existence Esperanto library, but it stuck in my memory and it’s one of the reasons I picked up Okrent’s In the Land of Invented Languages. (The other reason was for the coverage of Klingon. Hey, you have to admit that when a language invented for a fictional race becomes a language in which non-fictional wedding ceremonies are performed, it’s an interesting phenomenon, right?) This fascinating book is not just about how Esperanto, Klingon, and other deliberately designed languages were developed and received by the world, but also about what they can teach us about the illogical, difficult, naturally evolving languages the vast majority of us speak.

If you’re still not convinced this book is worth reading, consider this excerpt from Chapter 26: “One of the most popular presentations was by Don Boozer, a librarian at the Cleveland Public Library. His language, Dritok, was born when he began to wonder if it was possible to make a language out of chipmunk noises.” --Sarah

The library was lucky enough to get a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a program called "Picturing America." Click here to explore the site. NEH sent the library 50 beautiful print reproductions of classic American art, including paintings, architecture, sculpture, and fabric creations.

Currently we have Audubon's painting of a flamingo on display and a collection of some of our books about birds nearby for check-out. Every few months I'll put a new picture on display & titles that speak either to the theme of the piece or that discuss the artist's life and works. Next to the reproduction is a Reference book which discusses each piece in detail; right now it's opened to an explanation of Audubon's beautiful ornithological study. The "Picturing America" display is next to the elevator inside the library's main level. --Liz

Joni Mitchell

If, like me, you were slightly obsessed with Joni Mitchell & her music back in the '60s and '70s, two new books will take you back to that special musical time. Will You Take Me as I Am by Michelle Mercer focuses particularly on Joni's breakthrough album, Blue. Mercer interviews some of the young people who hung out with Joni and the real "Carey" in Crete; she discovers the background for the hauntingly beautiful song "River;" and reveals some of biographical sources for my personal favorite, "The Last Time I Saw Richard." Mercer also looks at Joni's other albums from that time & I really enjoyed her analysis and background on my favorite Mitchell album, Hejira (does everyone know that the cover of that album was taken Madison's own Picnic Point??).

Sheila Weller's Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation is also a fascinating book. Weller talks about the importance not only of these women's music, but the influence and inspiration they provided to women at that time. I recommend both these titles to music lovers & historians of that period. --Liz

Join us on Wednesday, June 10, 7:00 p.m. to learn about the best and most unusual places to eat in Wisconsin. Mary Bergin, author of Sidetracked in Wisconsin and Hungry for Wisconsin will take us on a visual culinary journey to good food in all parts of the state. This program is the kick-off for the Adult Summer Reading Program. For more information about the Adult Summer Reading program check out this link or call 827-7403 or email mid@scls.lib.wi.us.

You need a good book to read; so what can you do? You have several options at Middleton Public Library: you can chat with any of our service desk staff most of whom are enthusiastic readers and can pass on some great ideas; you can explore readers advisory databases like Novelist from our website (again, check with one of the service desk staff about accessing these); and a third option is checking out a book that advises readers. An example is Make Mine a Mystery: a Reader’s Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr (Non Fiction, Lower Level; 010 NIE). This source lists a variety of titles and websites for award winning books in the mystery field and breaks down mystery fiction into sub genres (examples: amateur, public, and private detectives) and specific types of detectives (examples: police detectives, crime specialist detectives, lawyer detectives) It lists mystery authors; a description of the detective; titles by the author with a description of the book; setting and location of the story; and type of mystery. Our non fiction checks out for four weeks which would give you, the reader, plenty of time to page through and find some reading suggestions. Enjoy! --Elizabeth