Kent District Library (MI)'s Blog, page 84

HAPPINESS Is a Cozy Read on a Chilly Day

The following titles relate to Englishman George Mallory and his quest to conquer Mount Everest. Cozy up with these chilly tales of adventure and daring on the high peaks.

 

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer (2009)

This real-life mountaineering mystery recounts the story of Mallory and his attempts to scale the heights.

 

 

Above All Things by Tanis Rideout (2013)

A tale inspired by Mallory’s life and mysterious fate traces the experiences of his wife, Ruth, who in 1924 maintains a hopeful vigil in war-ravaged England during his fateful third expedition to reach the summit.

 

The Abominable by Dan Simmons (2013)

Four climbers travel to Mount Everest in 1924 in an attempt to recover the body of a missing adventurer, but find themselves being pursued by someone or something.

 

 

Last Hours on Everest: The Gripping Story of Mallory & Irvine’s Fatal Ascent by Graham Hoyland (2013) NONFICTION

This detailed reconstruction of what happened to the two English climbing legends, who disappeared in 1924 into the myths of history, follows the author, the 15th Englishman to climb Everest, as he uses the evidence he gathered to find their bodies and discover whether they actually climbed the mountain.

 

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis (2011)

The definitive story of the British adventurers who survived the trenches of World War I and went on to risk their lives climbing Mount Everest.

 

 

The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest by National Geographic (2011) DVD

George Mallory was obsessed with becoming the first person to conquer the untouched Mount Everest. He was last seen 800 feet below the summit in 1924, before the clouds rolled in and he disappeared into legend. His death stunned the world. Seventy years later, climber Conrad Anker’s life became intertwined with Mallory’s when he found his frozen body with all his belongings intact.

 

Share Your Story, Win Prizes

Remember that time you… What’s your story? Share it with your community and hear their stories too. Record yourself telling a short (five minutes or less) but true story from your life — be it funny, sad or life-changing — and share it on KDL’s website for a chance to win several prizes in a random drawing, including an iPad Mini and gift cards to local retailers. Deadline for submissions is February 8. To share your story, just fill out the online form, which also includes prompts to help get ideas flowing.

If you do not have any equipment to record yourself, the Alpine Township, Cascade Township, East Grand Rapids, Grandville, Spencer Township and Wyoming branches can provide a quiet room with a laptop and microphone. Please call ahead at 616-784-2007 to reserve a time.

 

 

 

Two for Tuesday — Adventures

 

2 Adventurous Memoirs with a Conscience

Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander

Alexander writes a frank memoir about the past decade she’s spent working in humanitarian aid from refugee camps in Rwanda, Darfur, and Sierra Leone to disaster relief in Haiti and Indonesia. This is an enlightening account of what life is really like in the trenches of aid work and a glimpse into the tragedies and resiliency of displaced people across the globe.

Small Feet, Big Land: Adventure, Home, and Family on the Edge of Alaska by Erin McKittrick

McKittrick and her husband first went adventuring as new college grads, but returned to the landscape of Alaska as a biologist-geologist pair of new parents. Following up on her previous travel-adventure memoir, this book tells the fascinating story of their travels with children around Alaska, peppered with their own scientific insights into what they saw, particularly climate change and its impacts visible even on the scale of mere years between their trips.

 

Two for Tuesday – Adventures

 

2 Adventurous Memoirs With a Conscience

Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid by Jessica Alexander

Alexander writes a frank memoir about the past decade she’s spent working in humanitarian aid from refugee camps in Rwanda, Darfur, and Sierra Leone to disaster relief in Haiti and Indonesia. This is an enlightening account of what life is really like in the trenches of aid work and a glimpse into the tragedies and resiliency of displaced people across the globe.

 

Small Feet, Big Land: Adventure, Home, and Family on the Edge of Alaska by Erin McKittrick

McKittrick and her husband first went adventuring as new college grads, but returned to the landscape of Alaska as a biologist-geologist pair of new parents. Following up on her previous travel-adventure memoir, this book tells the fascinating story of their travels with children around Alaska, peppered with their own scientific insights into what they saw, particularly climate change and its impacts visible even on the scale of mere years between their trips.

 

eBooks Are for Kids Too!

KDL has lots of eBooks for kids, and now we have a site just for them! This new section of KDL’s digital collection is dedicated to kids, letting them easily browse for and borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks appropriate for their age and reading level. Check it out: http://ebooks.kdl.org/Kids.

 

eBooks are for kids too!

KDL has lots of eBooks for kids, and now we have a site just for them! This new section of KDL’s digital collection is dedicated to kids, letting them easily browse for and borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks appropriate for their age and reading level. Check it out: http://ebooks.kdl.org/Kids.

See a Play for FREE!

From today until they are gone, KDL cardholders may pick up two free vouchers per person at our Plainfield Township and Wyoming branches for the dress rehearsal of Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Clybourne Park on Thursday, January 16, 7:30 PM at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre (30 N. Division Ave.) Passes are available December 30 through January 10, while supplies last. This is a first-come, first-seated performance; having a voucher does not guarantee a seat as dress rehearsals also include open admission sales. So arrive early; doors to the theatre open at 5:30 PM.

Clybourne Park is a play for mature audiences by Bruce Norris written in response to Lorraine Hansberry‘s 1959 play, A Raisin in the Sun. As described by the Washington Post, the play “applies a modern twist to the issues of race and housing and aspirations for a better life.”

When the passes are gone, they’re gone. Go! And in the meantime, check out from KDL.

P.S: If you do get vouchers and find you cannot use them, please return them to any KDL branch as there is always high demand.

Holiday Closing — New Year’s Day

Kent District Library will be closed Wednesday, January  1 for the New Year’s holiday. In addition, all branches will close at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve). We will resume normal operating hours on Thursday, January 2. For additional 2014 holiday closing information, please view our holiday closings page.

We appreciate your patronage and wish you a Happy New Year!

 

 

Early Lit Bits: Book Review — “Moo”

Moo by David LaRochelle

Look out — cow behind the wheel! In this humorous picture book, a cow discovers the joys and dangers of driving when the farmer leaves his car unattended. The only text in the book is the word “moo,” allowing children to interpret emotion through the illustrations and by listening to your voice. In a one-on-one reading, ask your child to point to the letters in the word “moo” and ask what other words begin with “m” and “o.” In a group setting, invite the audience to “moo” with you! Talk about the sequence of events in the story and ask your child what might happen next. Reading together and talking about what you’ve read boosts comprehension and are great ways to get your child ready to read!

–Liz W. at KDL’s Plainfield Township branch

 

 

This article originally appeared in our Early Lit Bits eNewsletter. Read the most recent issue online or sign up to receive this monthly update highlighting early literacy tips and resources for parents and caregivers.

 

KDL Top Ten – 12/27/2013

Check out all the fabulous titles available on KDL’s eBook site! To see the 10 most downloaded eBooks at KDL this month, click on the link to the Top Ten list.