Posts Tagged ‘books’
Celebri-Author Betty White Is Headed to The Zoo
Posted by Lorin Drinkard / Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
The Queen of Funny. / Photo courtesy: Shutterstock/ s_bukley
Forgot Cleveland. This week, Betty White will be heating things up by heading to the National Zoo for a book signing. On Friday, May 18, the eternally youthful 90-year-old will be promoting “Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo“ and “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t.”
Book Report: New Releases by Local Authors
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, November 14th, 2011
Monday, Nov. 14, 2011
Two local authors release new books in the coming weeks.
Craig Shirley, who lives in Alexandria, provides a new perspective on World War II called “December 1941: 31 Days that Saved America and Changed the World,” published by Thomas Nelson.
During the first week of December 1941, America was still struggling with the remnants of the Great Depression, and war was not on its mind. But everything changed on Dec. 7. Shirley details that month’s impact on America, an impact still felt today, with powerful prose.
Cover design by James Hall. Photo by Bettmann/CORBIS
Shirley specifically mentions D.C.’s reaction to the Pearl Harbor attack and the immediate legal and political ramifications. A local authority on a local matter should make this book essential for the region’s history enthusiasts.
Shirley himself is a true local presence. He not only lives in Alexandria, he also serves as president and CEO of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs. He has long been involved in the political scene, and he has already written two highly successful books on the Reagan campaigns of 1976 and 1980.
Also forthcoming from Shirley is a biography of Newt Gingrich, with full cooperation from Gingrich himself. That book, entitled “Citizen Newt,” wends its way into stores in January 2012, and is also published by Thomas Nelson. Both “December 1941″ and “Citizen Newt” retail for $24.99.
Manassas author O.H. Bennett releases his third novel next week, in which he explores the complicated realm of family bonds.
“Creatures Here Below” is the story of a family that has been pasted together, only to start falling apart at a critical juncture in each member’s life.
Bennett earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Northern Virginia’s own George Mason University.
“Creatures Here Below” releases on Nov. 15 for $15, and is published by Agate Bolden.
–Matt Basheda
Hitting the books … without the books?
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Thursday, September 29th, 2011
Public schools consider a transition to digital.
Education
Alice Reilly, the coordinator for preK-12 social studies for Fairfax County Public Schools, says digital textbooks can be extremely interactive. They come equipped with features for highlighting, making notes in the margin, pictures that can be clicked on to see a supplementary video and interactive maps, charts and graphs. Additionally, many of them come with online resources for both teachers and students.
Integration
According to Michael Tupper, the director of school administration for Rappahannock County, the school system is in the process of trying to develop a virtual library. However, he says it is sometimes a question of accessibility; not all students have Internet access or multiple computers at home, which would make it difficult for households with more than one child to complete schoolwork.
Health
Reilly says Fairfax County has not encountered any health issues resulting from the use of digital textbooks. On the contrary, many parents Reilly surveyed before the integration frequently mentioned they thought their children would benefit from not having to carry heavy textbooks back and forth to school each day.
Finance
Howard Pressman, a certified financial planner for Egan, Berger & Weiner, comments that digital textbooks would be easier for the publisher to update, thus cutting costs for them. Reilly says that in terms of finances for Fairfax County, it is somewhat of a wash right now. Any savings the school system might make by moving to online and digital resources have to be spent on providing and updating the technology required.
As for the students, both Reilly and Tupper agree that students will not suffer from the change to digital. Just as the public schools provide textbooks for their students now, they will provide the resources necessary for digital texts.
–Alexandra Scarfone
Censorship: Rooted in Democracy?
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
The 2011 Fall for the Book Festival and Ban the Book Week both happen this month with missions to stand against censorship and promote reading among young people. Two community members offered their insights on the book-banning debate. — Clara Ritger
“Generally speaking, we oppose banning books. It’s not to say that we don’t need guidance and instruction before putting books in the hands of young readers. But banning books because some readers don’t like them takes away the right to choose for yourself, and that’s a foundation of American society. Books are a virtuous object. They’re one of the best ways for us to get information and ideas out there. We do exercise judgment over material in the festival, but it is not meant to silence writers or prevent work from getting out there.”
—WILLIAM MILLER, Executive Director of the 2011 Fall for the Book Festival
“Librarians censor things all the time. They make decisions about what will be included in their library. But we believe that parents should have a right to enter into discussion with libraries about what should be made available and what shouldn’t. Obscenities should not be in the library. We’re also concerned about children’s access to pornography. We support parents who want to speak out without being accused of book banning. We should hold hearings on material because that’s a democracy. One librarian making all the decisions isn’t.”
—ED VITAGLIANO, Spokesman for the American Family Association
(Photos Courtesy Jennifer Stone and American Family Association)
Free Books! The Digital Bookmobile Brings Libraries Back Into the Limelight
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, September 19th, 2011
Monday, Sept. 19, 2011
If you’re still insatiable for some good reads, even with the Fall for the Book festival this week and the National Book Festival this weekend, fear not, my fellow literature lovers. Here’s yet another event for you to dig into:
Sample your local library’s selection of e-books, courtesy of the Digital Bookmobile, at two Northern Virginia locations this week.
The Digital Bookmobile is a promotional 18-wheel truck that tours libraries around the country. Many libraries now have e-book rentals available, and the Digital Bookmobile’s purpose is to shed light on these new programs. Its trailer is a high-tech lounge with interactive computer stations.
Anyone who owns an e-book reader can bring it to the Bookmobile and instantly browse their own local library’s e-book selection. Downloads are free, but the downloads will “return” to the library after a certain time, just like a regular library.
The Digital Bookmobile will be parked at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and at Arlington Public Library’s central location on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Both events run from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. More details are here.
–Matt Basheda
Fall for the Book is Bigger Than Ever This Year
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, September 16th, 2011
Friday, Sept. 16, 2011
This year’s Fall for the Book festival looks to be the biggest ever. Stephen King and Amy Tan will both be there to accept awards. The presence of such monumental writers increases the festival’s reputation as one of the premier literary events in the country.
Fall for the Book consists of well over 70 individual readings and talks by leaders in various fields. Specific readings take place at many different locations throughout the D.C. area. Most of them, however, are at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus.
Photo credit: Shutterstock/inacio pires
The festival kicks off this Sunday, Sept. 18, and lasts through Friday, Sept. 2.
King and Tan headline the event, but noteworthy authors are plentiful. Some of the most exciting include journalist Jim Lehrer, C-SPAN founder and CEO Brian Lamb, and poet Claudia Rankine.
A detailed schedule can be found on the festival’s website.
–Matt Basheda
Borders Closing is Better Than a Post-Christmas Sale
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, September 12th, 2011
Monday, Sept. 12, 2011
If you’re feeling bookish, now is your last chance to grab some reads at a former landmark retailer. Borders is just days from closing, and almost everything in the store now costs only a few dollars.
If you think everything is picked over by now, think again. I just went there and I was still able to stock up. This is not a redux of the Tyson location’s closing, during which Borders transferred most of that store’s stock to other locations. Now the company’s warehouses are emptied which leaves plenty of great books, and even CDs, to be found.
To be fair, though, you do have to look pretty hard. If you’re looking for a quick trip you won’t get one. But if you want to comb the shelves looking for gems, each of which will only set you back a couple bucks, get there now.
–Matt Basheda
Discover Finder and his latest series
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, August 17th, 2009
Joseph Finder’s one of the leading voices when it comes to books filled with crackerjack intelligence dudes and espionage aplenty (and lots of Washington intrigue, which we Northern Virginians are familiar with), and he’s started a new series starring Nick Heller, former Special Forces operative and ace investigator. In Finder’s latest, “Vanished,” Finder’s brother has, well, vanished in Georgetown and he teams with his nephew, comes to grips with his corrupt dad and takes on a nefarious corporation. You gotta love nefarious corporations. Finder is coming to town to sign copies of the book at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Baileys Crossroads Borders.
Those who are interested in breaking down fiction, or even just writing some, may want to stop by Politics and Prose downtown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, when James Wood will be chatting about his collection of essays, “How Fiction Works.” The store also hosts local author Eugenia Kim at 7 p.m. Tuesday when she’ll be there promoting her debut novel “The Calligrapher’s Daughter,” about her mother’s struggles in Japanese-occupied Korea.
There’s been all these shakeups in Gotham City lately, with a new Batman and Robin and the town going to heck with Arkham’s finest running amok, so why not add a new Batgirl to the mix? She makes her debut this week in her own monthly title, and the Man of Steel’s got one heck of a problem in the form of Black Lantern Superman when the ring-bearing corpse shows up in Smallville in “Blackest Night: Superman.” Daredevil celebrates his 500th issue by continuing his arc with Kingpin and Lady Bullseye, “Punisher Noir” (written by the fantastic Frank Tieri) looks great with the gun-toting vigilante targeting Dutch Schultz, and the first two books from the Vertigo Crime line debut: Ian Rankin’s “Dark Entries” (starring John Constantine) and Brian Azzarello’s “Filthy Rich.”
“The Time-Traveler’s Wife” debuted in theaters on Friday, so if you’ve seen it, what’s better: the movie or the book? Let me know in the comments.
They’re not booing. They’re saying, ‘Duuuuuune.’
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, August 10th, 2009
Frank Herbert’s 1965 vaunted space opera “Dune” and its five sequels are close to many a sci-fi fan’s heart, and the series spawned the 1984 David Lynch film (you know, the one with Sting) and many other pop-culture adaptations over the years. Herbert died in 1986, but his son Brian and fellow scribe Kevin J. Anderson are keeping the sandy political and ecological epic going with a set of prequels and, currently, a set of novels set in between dear old dad’s tomes. The latest, “The Winds of Dune,” is a direct sequel to “Dune Messiah,” and Brian Herbert is coming to town for a signing event at the Baileys Crossroads Borders at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The store is also hosting ace crime novelist Linwood Barclay at 7:30 Thursday, who will be promoting his latest thriller, “Fear the Worst,” about a single father and the daughter who mysteriously disappears. And Democratic types will want to hit up Politics and Prose downtown at 4 p.m. Thursday since Howard Dean, former DNC Chairman, will be chatting up his new book, “Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform.”
The debut issue of “Blackest Night” last month was fantastic, and so should the second issue be this week. It’s getting pretty crazy with the Martian Manhunter, the Dibnys and (possibly) Hawkman and Hawkgirl being turned into Black Lanterns. Who’s next? I can’t wait to see, because Geoff Johns is writing some magnificent stuff. Batman gets his own “Blackest Night” miniseries, and he’s teaming up with Deadman to deal with some resurrected people from his own past. Also debuting is “Adventure Comics” featuring Superboy and Starman from the Legion of Superheroes, and “The Marvels Project,” a series breaking out of Marvel’s 70th anniversary this year that tells the origins of the Marvel Universe.
Better fantasy epic: “Dune” or “The Lord of the Rings”? As always, let me know in the comments!
The inherent zen of a motorcycle shop
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
I’m back! And so is Matthew B. Crawford, who’s both philosopher and Richmond motorcycle shop owner. He worked at a D.C. think tank for some years before opening up his shop and writing the tome, “Shop Class as Soulcraft,” and he’ll be signing copies of this biography/self-help book about finding more of yourself through manual labor at the Politics and Prose downtown at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The store also hosts Washington Post writers Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson at 7 p.m. Wednesday — they’ll be discussing their coverage and analysis of the Obama/McCain presidential election that went into creating “The Battle for America 2008.”
Being a comic geek, one of the events I’m most looking forward to is on Saturday, when the very talented Ben Templesmith stops by Laughing Ogre Comics in Lansdowne for a signing between 12 and 4 p.m. He’s one of the best horror comics around, co-creating “30 Days of Night” with Reston native Steve Niles and hatching both “Welcome to Hoxford” and “Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse,” which he writes as well. He also co-created and does the art for Warren Ellis’ fantastic “Fell.” His style is unmistakably detailed and colorful, so definitely be sure to check this out since he’ll be signing anything and everything.
And while you’re in the comics mood, be sure to pick up the debut issue of the new “Doom Patrol” series. The “world’s strangest superheroes” have gone through many different incarnations since 1963, but this time could be better than ever since the book’s courtesy of writer Keith Giffen. Also out this week: We fnd out what happened to the Masters of Evil when the Scarlet Witch went bonkers in a “House of M” special; “Luke Cage Noir,” featuring the great period art of Falls Church’s own Shawn Martinbrough; and everybody’s searching for Steve Rogers in the second issue of “Captain America: Reborn,” while Steve is doing his best “Lost” impression and is somewhere else in time.
It’s now August! What’s the one summer read you still need to get to before Labor Day? Let me know in the comments.