The Library is celebrating the successful completion of yet another fantastic Summer Reading Program that provided a wide variety of educational and whimsical programs that included magicians, exotic animals, local community helpers, storytellers and musicians! While Youth Services staff busily prepared and implemented programming for children and teens, I want to congratulate all staff on the fantastic team effort they provided to keep the library running smoothly in support of the extra activities and increased circulation! Some locations were even able to provide Adult Summer Reading Programs, which Claire Campana presented as a program with two other librarians, at this year's ALA Annual Conference in Chicago! Thanks also to Stephanie for coordinating the performance of the newly formed Conway Library teen band, Unfiltered, at the Teen BBQ in Conway and to Manny for being the featured performer at several location's Summer Reading Program finale and awards ceremonies!
As most of you know, not only does GG stand for my initials, it's also what my four grandchildren call me as an abbreviation for Grandma Geri! I have finally finished Twilight, the first book of Stephanie Meyer's series about vampires, in the same amount of time it took my granddaughter Kiley, to read ALL of them! Work always seems to get in the way of reading although I've had more than one person tell me it must be nice to have a job where you can "read all the time"! Wishful thinking, but I do try to fit in some reading during my usual half hour or so lunch and once I started reading Twilight I was as mesmerized as she was by the budding friendship/romance of Bella and Edward and Bella's realization that there was definitely something a bit different about Edward and his siblings at their Forks High School in remote, cloudy Washington State. Once I started reading, I'd try to ask Kiley questions "If Edward is a vampire how can he go to school during the day? and "What happens to him when he's in the sunlight?" She smiled secretively as she told me, "Just keep reading, GG, you'll find out if you keep reading!" And so I did!
Did you really like "Twilight"? It was oddly disturbing. The stalker overtones. The submissive girl in the abusive relationship...I don't think Meyer had a clue how it could all be interpreted. She's as much stated that basically she was just fleshing out a girlhood 'bad boy' fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI think it's far better to read about a 'bad boy' than to actually be with one! Plus you can learn a lot about choices and consequences from characters who may be non-examples of what you actually want in real life. That said, I think Meyers adequately portrays Edward and his family as vampires with morals and conscience, intent on protecting Bella, as their unconventional relationship blossoms.
ReplyDeleteHi Geri! It's great to see your new blog! I wasn't planning to read Twilight, but then I found out that my niece is reading it, so I'm going to give it a try so that we can discuss it later! -Lisa H
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, Thanks for your interest in my new blog, I'm hoping to get another entry added this week. I came to "Twilight" the same way
ReplyDeleteyou did, my granddaughter was reading it like
your niece and I wanted to check it out plus discuss it with her. After I started the book, we went out for Italian and when I ordered the mushroom ravioli, my granddaughter thought I made my selection based on Bella's choice when she had dinner with Edward; have fun with your niece and remember to have the mushroom ravioli!
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ReplyDeleteNews Release: New book of Carolina ghost stories and folktales
ReplyDeleteFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE . . .
Ghosts, Gators, and Gullah Folklore in the Carolina Lowcountry
A haunted necklace, a trickster rabbit, an ingenious slave, a shrieking droll, and a fiancé returned from the dead all come to life in Lynn Michelsohn’s new book, Tales from Brookgreen.
In this collection of Lowcountry folklore Michelsohn retells stories she heard as a child from two gracious hostesses (her cousin Corrie Dusenbury and noted WPA writer Genevieve Chandler Wilcox) at Brookgreen Gardens─South Carolina’s popular tourist attraction near Myrtle Beach.
Meet George Washington and Lord Cornwallis as they each encounter the plucky Mistress of Brookgreen Plantation. Uncover new twists to familiar legends of local ghosts Alice and Crab Boy. Follow the struggles of Pipedown Plantation slaves to recruit a new master, of Union Admiral John Dahlgren to stop Confederate blockade runners, and of song collector John Lomax to reach a mysterious island. Lose yourself─or find yourself─in the heart of the South Carolina Lowcountry!
These enchanting folktales, accompanied by striking black and white illustrations and simple orientation maps, add fascinating dimensions to the serenely beautiful landscapes of the former rice plantations making up Brookgreen Gardens. Entertaining stories tied to specific locations and historical events on these plantations enrich the enjoyment of any visit to the Lowcountry for tourists or armchair travelers, as well as for collectors of ghost stories and folklore.
Michelsohn, a tenth generation Carolinian, grew up steeped in these Lowcountry tales─as well as in the black mud of its tidal marshes. She is clearly drawn to history, mystery, and romance wherever she finds it as her previous book, Roswell, Your Travel Guide to the UFO Capital of the World! explores intrigues of a different kind. Now, in Tales from Brookgreen, her charming retelling of these sometimes-eerie, sometimes-sad, sometimes-humorous tales engages readers in characters and folkways unique to the Carolina Lowcountry.
Tales from Brookgreen, published August 16, 2009 (paperback, 6 x 9 inches, 126 pages, 16 illustrations, ISBN 978-0-9771614-5-4, US $12.95), is available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers, and local bookstores. Read excerpts from Tales from Brookgreen, information about the Carolina Lowcountry, and other stories of ghosts, hurricanes, Confederates, and plantation life at www.cleananpress.com.
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Contact:
Lisa Burroughs Marketing Associate Cleanan Press, Inc., Roswell, NM USA
Lisa, Thanks for sharing the news release on the exciting tales of Brookgreen and the low country! It's always intriguing to read about what's in your own backyard, especially since you can easily continue to investigate on your own!
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