National Book Award Winners!

The winners of the National Book Awards were announced last night in New York City. The winners are:

Fiction: Louise Erdrich. The Round House (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers)
Non-Fiction: Katherine Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity Random House)
Poetry: David Ferry. Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations (University of Chicago Press)
Young People’s Literature: William Alexander, Goblin Secrets (Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

Click here for a complete list of winners with a link to interviews of the winning authors. Also, come to the Al Harris Library to check out our display of National Book Award winners and finalists. 

Finalists for 2012 National Book Awards

                                   Come check out the National Book Award Finalists display at the Al Harris Library! When the 2012 winners are announced on November 14, the display will be updated with winner information.

Sponsored by the National Book Foundation, the National Book Award winners are selected in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. The National Book Award began in 1950 when a consortium of book publishing groups sponsored the 1st annual National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Their goal was to enhance the public's awareness of exceptional books written by fellow Americans and to increase the popularity of reading in general. For more information on the National Book Awards, go to http://www.nationalbook.org/.

Remember, Remember! The fifth of November!

V for Vendetta

The Al Harris Library is home to a diverse collection of graphic novels and related films. To coincide with November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day, we have chosen to feature the graphic novel V for Vendetta, by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd.

V for Vendetta tells the story of a vigilante seeking revenge against an oppressive government that is set within a dystopian future. The story, although fictional, borrows liberally from the historical figure of Guy Fawkes, who along with thirteen co-conspirators, attempted to blow up the English Houses of Parliament in 1605.

Moore uses the construct of the vigilante revenge tale to effectively provide not only an exciting work of populist fiction, but also a politically charged tale of fascism versus anarchy. It also provides a political critique of former English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and what Moore interpreted as the failings of England’s political environment and domestic policy during her administration.

To check out this graphic novel, or any of the associated books or media in the front display case, just ask for assistance at the circulation desk!

Guy Fawkes:
A Complete History of the Gunpowder Treason

For further information on Guy Fawkes and the history of the Gunpowder Treason, please consult Guy Fawkes: A Complete History of the Gunpowder Treason, by Rev. Thomas Lathbury, M.A. - A concise non-fictional history of the Gunpowder Treason that attempts to assemble all available information on the subject from various historical perspectives.

Available as a digital textbook via Ebrary.

Click Here to Access Book.

Veterans Day 2012

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...

In Flanders Fields

by Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 

Honoring Our Veterans