Press Release: Baldwin Library Recommends Best Books of 2017

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  Rebekah Craft <rebekah.craft@baldwinlib.org>

  Bcc:markekapel@yahoo.com

  Dec 27 at 5:34 PM

  
  

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  

  Contact: Rebekah Craft, Baldwin Public Library

  Phone: 248-554-4682

  Email: rebekah.craft@baldwinli b.org
  

  
  

  Baldwin Library Recommends Best Books of 2017 

  BIRMINGHAM, MI (December 27, 2017) – If you’re looking for a great read this winter, check out favorite titles of 2017 recommended by members of the Baldwin Library staff, Library Board and Friends of the Library. 

  For Adults

  Fiction

  Beartown by Fredrick Bäckman

  Beartown was riveting and quite timely for me. The book focuses on high school hockey and the quest to be the best no matter what. When a violent act occurs and those involved must face the angst of covering it up. –recommended by Melissa Mark, Library Board

  Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

  Eleanor struggles with her damaging past, an inability to connect with even well-meaning acquaintances, and trouble dealing with anything outside of her daily routine. But she is also a complex and sympathetic heroine. Her transformation doesn't happen overnight, but her dark humor and survivor spirit make for a character that is easy to care for and a book that is hard to put down.  –recommended by Sarah and Denise, adult librarians

  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 

  Despite Count Rostov’s confinement in Moscow's Metropol Hotel, his life is as rich and full as life can be.  The novel is smart, funny, tender, romantic, historical, relevant, wise, and more. –recommended by Liz, circulation assistant

  The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal

  Lyrically written with intensely emotional portrayals of grief and hope simultaneously, this translated-from-French novel describes the story surrounding teenagers on a road trip and a Parisian woman who needs a medical miracle to stay alive.  The book inspired the 2017 French film Reparer les Vivants (Heal the Living). –recommended by Susan, adult librarian

  I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid 

  You won't solve the mystery until it's too late in this psychological horror thriller. –recommended by Dan, adult librarian

  Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

  This book opens and closes as firefighters are managing an assumed arson at the Richardson’s stately home in the wealthy suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Throughout the course of this mesmerizing, character-driven novel, the author reveals how the lives of three, very different, families are intertwined. --recommended by Rebekah, Associate Director

  A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas     

  An original and inventive re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes and Watson as women in Victorian England, this mystery introduces Charlotte Holmes, a keenly intelligent and surprisingly vain woman who purposely ruins her good name as so to not be eligible for marriage, and instead is assisted by her new employer Mrs. Watson in becoming a private detective. –recommended by Kristen, Head of Circulation

  The Underground Railroad by Colin Whitehead

  This book is a beautifully written page turner. It is an historical novel about a slave escaping and traveling north, full of interesting characters and an imaginative twist on the Underground Railroad. –recommended by Pam DeWeese, Friends of the Baldwin Public Library President

  Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

  Told in five parts from the perspectives of various women affected by 20-something Aviva Grossman's affair with a married Congressman from Florida, Zevin’s riff on the Monica Lewinsky scandal is authentic, insightful, clever and laugh-out-loud funny. –recommended by Maria, Head of Adult Services

  Non-Fiction

  Being Mortal: medicine and what matters in the end by Atul Gawande

  A sensitively written, riveting book on what it means to age, become infirm, and deal with life's end, whenever it comes, Gawande uses personal stories to lend immediacy to his well-researched, thought-provoking book on a topic most put off discussing; this book will get the conversation started. –recommended by Donna, youth librarian

  Birdmen by Lawrence Goldstone 

  This great sequel to McCullough’s The Wright Brothers describes the decade-long battle in the air and in the courts between the Wright Brothers and Glenn Curtis to control the future of flight.  It’s a thrill ride through the early days of manned flight, which includes the daring men and women pilots who pushed their aircraft to and beyond their limits and often paid for it with their lives.  –recommended by Jim Suhay, Library Board President

  Darwin's Backyard:  How Small Experiments Led to a Big Theory by James T. Costa

  This engaging biography uses anecdotes and personal correspondence to document how Darwin enlisted his wife Emma, their children, various maids and butlers, extended family, friends, and houseguests to help conduct backyard research to support (or sometimes shoot down) various theories. Every heavily-documented chapter ends with a replicable experiment. –recommended by Kathleen, adult librarian

  
  

  For Children and Teens

  The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

  This powerful YA book looks at racially-motivated police brutality through the eyes of a 16-year-old black girl named Starr, who sees her unarmed best friend get shot by a cop, and then has to decide if she should stand up for what is right.  –recommended by Elisabeth, teen librarian

  The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

  This is a gripping, fast-paced fantasy novel for teens with an ending that will leave the reader breathless with anticipation for the next in the series. Maxwell's fantasized version of New York pulls the reader in with realistic details and cleverly crafted magical elements that blend seamlessly to create an alternate world.  –recommended by Stephanie, Head of Youth Services

  Nightlights by Paul Paolilli and Dan Brewer, illustrated by Alice Brereton 

  I thought the story was cute, but I fell in love with the illustrations! The family in the book looks exactly like mine! –recommended by H, adult librarian

  Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez 

  This entertaining middle grade chapter book will leave readers cheering for Stella as she learns to ride a bike, make new friends, react to bullies, and start talking a lot more. –recommended by Caroline, youth librarian 

  The Baldwin Public Library is located in downtown Birmingham at 300 W. Merrill Street. The Library’s hours are 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Library’s website www.baldwinlib.org has information on how to register for a Library Card and access all of the Library’s services.

  
  

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  --

  Rebekah Craft
  Associate Director
  

  Baldwin Public Library

  300 W. Merrill St.

  Birmingham, MI  48009

  www.baldwinlib.org

  248-554-4682

  
  

  Download all attachments as a zip file

DVD'S/BLU-RAYS

Dunkirk

A World War II thriller about the evacuation of Allied troops from the French city of Dunkirk before Nazi forces can take hold.

 Editors note : To be sure the jerries took a nap after the official fall of France  but had the no planes as good as the English Sptfire or skilled pilots  the Poles and other nationals who flew with the RAF  and the rest as they say is History.

Mother!

A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Victoria and Abdul

The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.

-- 

Josh

____________________

Josh Rouan
Baldwin Public Library
300 W. Merrill St.
Birmingham, MI  48009
248-554-4655
josh.rouan@baldwinlib.org

Last Minute, grab and go Christmas Shopping that will leave money in your pocket.

Electronics is big year. What else is new ?  Somebody on your list wants an  Monster  (the biggest one they make) I -pad. Figure around five or six hundred  dollars plus the money you have to shell out  to get your car out of troy impound  if you double park to do that ? It wouldn't be so galling if you didn't have to  have to listen to a seres of lectures at various tables in the apple store about the companies theory of every which should be quite simple. You want their product ? You give them money. Any deviation from said is why our economy  barely teeters above that of China  as number 1 economy a position it has held for more than a century. However this year
the  Monster Apple pad. however has a competitor in the range of $100.
It is the Kindle 80 which  Screen rivals the that of the  monster Apple. Ask a clerk to help you if you to try this for yourself lest you set off an alarm which would really put you in dutch on Christmas eve.
for now regardless of  size The Monster Apple is the superior tablet. For the cost difference it should be. I will tell you that that edge will evaporate as time goes on. Both  companies introduce products at two year intervals or so it seems. The difference is  Kindle up grades are  are more significant quantum leaps so much so that you you'll keep your old ones or hand them down to other family members as the years go by. Kindle  also offers book reading, movies, television, and game playing, with better integration than Apple. Currently the  Kindle  40 as last upgrade  before the current 80  is selling a deep discount prices. One Troy electronic retailer was selling it in the mid forties. It is slimmer and lighter the newer one and much more intuitive. Great for entertainment. The retailer in question has a parking lot so you won't even have to think about about double  parking.Merry Christmas. 

NEW TITLES FROM BALDWIN LIBRARY TO START THE NEW YEAR

BOOKS

Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini

The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. Estranged from Ada’s father, who was infamously “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” Ada’s mathematician mother is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize that her delightful new friendship with inventor Charles Babbage—brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly—will shape her destiny. 

Year One by Nora Roberts

It began on New Year's Eve. The sickness came on suddenly, and spread quickly. The fear spread even faster. Within weeks, everything people counted on began to fail them. The electrical grid sputtered; law and government collapsed--and more than half of the world's population was decimated. Where there had been order, there was now chaos. And as the power of science and technology receded, magic rose up in its place. Some of it is good, like the witchcraft worked by Lana Bingham, practicing in the loft apartment she shares with her lover, Max. Some of it is unimaginably evil, and it can lurk anywhere, around a corner, in fetid tunnels beneath the river--or in the ones you know and love the most...

DVD'S/BLU-RAYS

American Assassin

After the death of his girlfriend at the hands of Islamic terrorists, Mitch Rapp is drawn into the world of counterterrorism, mentored by tough-as-nails former U.S. Navy SEAL Stan Hurley.

CITY REMAINS IN DARK ON KAPEL HOSLER, COMMISSION OUTCOME

William E. Hosler (write-in)

0.00%0Mark Kapel (write-in)

0.00%0Rejected write-ins

0.00%0Unassigned write-ins

9.97%185   remain 

THE  INCUMBANT  RACE WITH with all four candidates  winning four of the City's  Commission seats was the Proverbial dead Heat merry go round.
The Magic number in the single commissioner  race is 185 votes which is enough to swing the election one was or another in a variety of ways.
The polls opened on Tuesday at 8am and closed for voting  at 8pm.
 The candidates were invited to view the  early counting.  One chose to the other did not.
 Imagine  the a shopper at the food store being a given a  long paper tape. Long enough the reach head to knees of a short person. 
The well trained and experienced eye can spot canned peas at full price instead of the discounted price on the shelf which requires price check  that holds up the line the check out line. You get the  That is essentially where we are now picture on the tapes are the signatures of the voters who wrote in. Capel for Kapel or Hoffman for Hosler would be easy to attribute. others might be hard  to attribute and in either case  an unfilled box by name would get tossed.  With the exception  of unfilled  box the example listed are just guesses on my part.

Amy Burton <ABurton@bloomfieldhillsmi.net>

To:coakley@millercanfield.com,smcclure77@aol.com,sdsherr@comcast.net,smccarthy218@gmail.com,William Hosler

Nov 7 at 10:45 PM

 OF NOTE  IS  THE DATE AND TIME OF THE  THE EMAIL WHICH IS  Election Day after the polls closed. 

Dear Candidates: 

The County Board of Canvassers is responsible for tallying and certifying the write-in vote totals as part of their audit of the election process.  The Board of Canvassers could take up to a week after Election Day to be complete.  I have reviewed the write-in votes and prepared the following summary: 

The name or a variation of the name William Hosler was listed as a write-in candidate approximately 122 times between the absentee and in person ballots.

The name or a variation of the name Mark Kapel was listed as a write-in candidate approximately 52 times between the absentee and in person ballots.  

I can’t make a determination on the validity of the votes cast for either write-in candidate.  The Board of Canvassers must take into consideration several factors including the spelling of the write-in candidate’s name and the marking of the box next to the write-in name on the ballot.   

All other inquires made to my office for election results will be directed to the Oakland County Elections website for updated results. 

Thank-you all for your patience.  I will continue to keep the candidates informed as the County reviews the election results. 

Congratulations to all for a great election!

Amy

  

Amy L. Burton

City Clerk

City of Bloomfield Hills

45 E. Long Lake Road

Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

(248) 530-1403 Direct

From: Amy Burton 
Sent: Tuesday, November 07, 2017 9:40 PM
To: coakley@millercanfield.com; smcclure77@aol.com; sdsherr@comcast.net; smccarthy218@gmail.com; William Hosler <WEHosler@WWRPLaw.com>; markekapel@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Election Results 

Candidates:

Vote Smart Facts Matter. at Baldwin Library

Baldwin Library Hosts Project Vote Smart: “The Facts Matter”

BIRMINGHAM, MI (November 9, 2017) – Richard Kimball, American politician and founder of the nonprofit voter education organization Project Vote Smart, will deliver his nonpartisan voter education presentation, “The Facts Matter,” at Baldwin Public Library on Saturday, November 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Mr. Kimball is a graduate of the University of Arizona and previously worked for Congressman Morris K. Udall, Senator Walter Mondale, and Senator Daniel Moynihan. He represented central Phoenix in the Arizona state Senate, was elected Arizona Corporation Commissioner and Chairman, and was the 1986 Democratic nominee for United States Senate who was defeated by Senator John McCain. He founded Vote Smart in 1992 and remains dedicated to the cause of voter education.

“When we learned that Mr. Kimball would be in the Detroit Metro-area we jumped at the opportunity to host his talk,” says Maria Williams, Head of Adult Services. “Public libraries have always played a pivotal role in ensuring that residents have access to information that will enhance their lives, and that certainly includes information related to issues and candidates on which people vote. As we approach the 2018 election we want to make sure we do all we can to enable area voters to make informed choices.”

Vote Smart was designed to help voters defend their right to the facts about those who seek political office. The Facts Matter presentation has four parts and covers the concerns of the Founding Fathers about giving voting rights to citizens; how political ads affect voters; the danger of lies and misinformation; and a practical approach for voters to defend their right to the facts. The event is presented in partnership with Oakland University's Center for Civic Engagement and the League of Women Voters Oakland Area. 

NEW TITles and Blue Ray DVDS at The Baldwin Library.

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people's thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

DVD'S/BLU-RAYS

Baby Driver
A talented, young getaway driver relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss, he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom. 

Beguiled is Clint Eastwood at his at his creepiest and best. 
It is therefore its a  popular let see  what  else is on flick that most of  us have seen  part of as the remote control gets a  work out.  The  If you want to see the film in it's entirety  see the early 1970's version with Clint East wood.   Regrettably the film beguiled Francis Ford Coppola's daughter { Lost in Translation } 
to make a dreadful remake that played to an almost empty house the Maple a month or so ago.
The Beguiled
At a girls' school in Virginia during the Civil War, where the young women have been sheltered from the outside world, a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Soon, the house is taken over with sexual tensions, rivalries, and an unexpected turn of events.

The House
After Scott and Kate Johansen lose their daughter's college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank, they decide to start an illegal casino in his house. 

League of Woman Voters Candidate Forum Conjurs up ghosts Ghosts of Halloweens Past.

 And a few firsts like the first Forum in recent memory to to be held at Prime Time. In the past  the Our Forum had to compete with rush hour traffic and the dinner hour.  Apparently  someone at one told the league that our senior residents  were usually ready for bed at six pm and the information stuck.
Another first was the length of an hour and a half. Usually we get just an hour. An other new wrinkle was  the addition  a of the Literature table where attendees could pick up  brochures  or puff  pieces  the candidates write about them selves. Attendees were invited to take home with them. It is not known  if anyone did.
The Crypt however was blown wide open on the first question of the evening of the  evening which was the  did any of the candidates see a rapprochement with The Township Library in the foreseeable future. The answer was no in no uncertain terms.
 the Baldwin Library has been a good fit for the City all agreed  providing  usage information when requested and making it clear to both Cities that  library belongs to the City of Birmingham and therefore upgrades and what not are the responsibility of the owners not the  contract  communities  who use it as  more or less renters.
Almost a decade before it was the township who wished to raise its rates  through  the stratosphere to cover their equally high remodel costs and would not provide sage information to justify such an increase.
What is little known is that City Commission paid the Township  library dues for the residents when they were in the bounds of reason. The money came from the General Fund And the City could not afford to pay what the Township Library was asking. So the City went dark and stayed that way for  a couple of years. 
Knowing how much the residents  liked the library money was even set aside in case  The Township Library come to its senses.
Enter the Troy library and the Ghosts of City Managers past. The City Manager' Duties include gate keeping, and keeping the Ghosts out.  But there are exceptions to every rule and the man from the  Troy Library was one of of such. The Troy Library would sell annual Library privileges to residents  our City for a mere $100 a household.
If every household wanted one the cost would be $15000. Cheap But it good better. Despite the City'offer to pay the hundred dollar fee there were few takers.  The highest estimates  were
less than 200 and easy to monitor when the City dispensed checks   to the small numbers who requested refund checks which prompted  the question couldn't those who wanted to use the Township  Library go there and pay the costs associated with such members  and receive the benefits of said.That is how it works in America right ?
 Maybe but not exactly. So two  residents of our CITY went to court to determine the exact boundaries of not exactly. The case went all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court it was ruled that  people had the right to visit the library, and use the library  on the premises. The Court also ruled that  it would not  force  libraries to loan books or sell it's services.
A Spit decision. When you are in a public Library In Michigan  you are entitled to be there by rights articulated   by Michigan  Supreme Court  in  a case taken there by Bloomfield Hills Residents Mr.Goldstein and  was represented fellow Bloomfield Resident,  Attorney Robert Toohey. Ther efforts   provide   you with the half you can use but not the part you can not.  If you want to change that in Michigan I suppose you start with the State's Supreme Court. In our City  we  have found  what works and is affordable and that is priceless.

More new titles from The Baldwin Library

BOOKS

Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides

This collection presents characters in the midst of personal and national crises. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people's wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art collapse under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in "Bronze," a sexually confused college freshman whose encounter with a stranger on a train leads to a revelation about his past and his future.

Ghost on the Case by Carolyn Hart

Bailey Ruth finds herself comforting a distraught sister when she's sent to Adelaide, Oklahoma, on her latest mission. Susan Gilbert receives a $100,000 ransom demand for her younger sibling. When the caller wants Susan to pay a visit to her wealthy boss and take the cash from his safe, Bailey Ruth follows Susan to the home. But she finds herself in a quandary, knowing that robbery is hardly a Heavenly pursuit. While Susan waits to hear back from the kidnappers, Bailey Ruth attempts to piece together how the criminals targeted Susan and how they know about her boss's money. At a luncheon the previous week, Susan's boss asked her to open the safe so all the attendees knew it was filled with cash. Could one of the rich man's closest confidants be behind the abduction? Bailey Ruth is positive she can use her detective skills to figure out which luncheon guest arranged the kidnapping. But an unexpected twist in the case soon has Bailey Ruth seeking a murderer who has plans to send more victims to the great beyond.

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach opens in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. Anna Kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to the house of Dexter Styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that had always belonged to men. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. She is the sole provider for her mother, a farm girl who had a brief and glamorous career with the Ziegfeld Follies, and her lovely, severely disabled sister. At a nightclub, she chances to meet Dexter Styles again, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father's life, the reasons he might have vanished.

Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

Merry Smith is pretty busy these days. She's taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry's well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her--minus her photo--and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl. Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects--or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot.

Winter Solstice by Elin Hilderbrand

It's been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that's about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they've experienced in years. And Bart's safe return isn't the family's only good news: Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she's finally found the love of her life; and Kelly is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn't be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly.

DVD'S/BLU-RAYS

Baldwin Library Hosts Family Story Times at the Birmingham Museum

BIRMINGHAM, MI (September 27, 2017) – Every month, the Birmingham Museum opens up their 1822 Hunter House to host an evening family story time along with the Baldwin Public Library. Upcoming family story times include “Nocturnal Animals” on Thursday, October 12 at 6:30 p.m. and “Teddy Bears” on Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m.

The cozy parlor of the oldest home in Birmingham is the perfect spot to unwind as Baldwin Public Library youth librarian Maeve Devlin reads books, sings songs, repeats rhymes and fingerplays, and leads movement activities. Story times not only foster a love of reading, but they also teach children valuable social skills like following directions, sharing, and interacting with others. It encourages children to get involved in the story they’re hearing and motivates them to want to read more.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the Baldwin Library for our story time series,” said Birmingham Museum Program Assistant Caitlin Donnelly. “For many young children and their families, this is their very first visit to the museum and it gives us a chance to show off our facility and the different programs that we have.”

​The Birmingham Museum is located at 556 West Maple. Exhibit hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and until 8:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month. Two hours of free parking is available at the Chester Street Parking Deck; credit card required for entry and exit.  For more information, call 248-530-1928 or visit www.bhamgov.org/museum. Museum admission is $7 for adults; $5 for students and seniors.  Kids 5 and under and Friends of the Birmingham Museum members are free.