Daniel Boone Regional Library

Spring Break is only days away and DBRLTeen has some suggestions for a fun-filled vacation. Whether you are flying to a sunny beach somewhere, road tripping with the family, or just chillin’ at home, there is plenty of time to reconnect with your favorite books and authors. Personally, I’m looking forward to spending my Spring Break lounging on the couch and reading “The Clockwork Princess” by Cassandra Clare. While away from school, you might consider…

• checking out some of the contending titles in our March Madness Teen Book Tournament. Submit your vote for a chance to win a Barnes & Noble gift card, or a free autographed copy of “Legend” by Marie Lu!
• gathering your art supplies and designing an entry for the library’s Summer Reading Bookmark Contest.
• submitting a book review for publishing at teens.dbrl.org.
•  perusing some of our most popular booklists like “Books for Dudes” and “Teens’ Top Ten Winners.”
• downloading some of our most most popular teen titles as an eBook or audiobook for your iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, Android, Nook, Kindle, or other mobile device.

We recently added “Photographic Memory” to the DBRL collection. The film currently has a rating of 94% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes and is the latest from director Ross McElwee who also directed the films “Sherman’s March“ and “Bright Leaves“. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:

Filmmaker Ross McElwee finds himself in frequent conflict with his son, a young adult who seems addicted to and distracted by the virtual worlds of the internet. To understand his fractured love for his son, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux for the first time in decades to retrace his own journey into adulthood. A meditation on the passing of time, the praxis of photography and film, and the digital versus analog divide.

Check out the film trailer or the official film site for more info.

Several years ago, after a long flight to the West Coast, I arrived safely in Los Angeles while my luggage ended up in Canada. After that hot mess, I vowed to streamline the way I travel.

As you might expect, I no longer check my bags. This has forced me to prioritize and carefully plan before I ever start packing. The forethought spent while still at home usually saves me a great deal time and hassle in the long run. I’ve learned that you can save a lot of space simply by rolling your clothes instead of folding them. I also stockpile beauty samples; purchase clothes made from low-maintenance, wrinkle-free fabrics; and appreciate a comfortable, versatile pair of shoes.

Like most modern-day travelers, I also depend quite heavily on my mobile devices when flying the friendly skies. I use my iPhone to keep track of my travel itinerary and check-in for my flight. I use my iPad to store music, games and eBooks to avoid added weight in my carry-on. Below is my list of essential apps for all tech-savvy travelers.

TripIt – After creating a free account, you simply forward your airline itinerary and hotel confirmation to plans@tripit.com. Your reservations are then organized into an easy-to-read online document that can be emailed or accessed from your mobile device. Available for Apple, Android, Blackberry and Windows devices.

GateGuru – Locate the best food, shopping and service options within any airport. This app is wonderful if you have a long layover or delayed flight. Available for Apple, Android and Windows devices.

Yelp – Need to find the nearest pharmacy? Need a recommendation for a good local restaurant? Yelp uses your smartphone’s GPS feature to help you locate local businesses and other nearby resources. Available for Apple and Android devices.

DayOne – Quickly and easily enter your thoughts and photos in this elegant journal app. Best of all, any scandalous exploits can be kept secret with an optional passcode. Available for Apple devices only.

Do you have a favorite travel app or other travel-related resource to recommend? Let us know in the comments field below!

VOTE NOW through March 25 for the final two contending titles!

The competition is getting fierce in the March Madness Teen Book Tournament!  We’ve had some epic upsets and some crushing defeats. Even though “The Grimm Legacy” was knocked out in the second round, author Polly Shulman asked us to thank all her readers for their support. In an email she sent, Cassandra Clare seemed nervous about her book facing off against “Breaking Dawn“; however, “Clockwork Prince” defeated Stephenie Meyer’s book easily.  Literary goddess, Lois Lowry, even emailed to thank DBRLTeen for the good news of how well “The Giver” has been doing.   How will it all end up?  Stay tuned to teens.dbrl.org; and, as James Dashner encouraged on his Twitter feed, “Vote!”

March Madness Teen Book Tournament: Final 4

1. “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
2. “Maze Runner” by James Dashner
3. “Divergent” by Veronica Roth
4. “Clockwork Prince” by Cassandra Clare

How the March Madness Teen Book Tournament Works:

Through a series of votes, we are narrowing the library’s list of the 32 most popular teen books to one grand champion. By supporting your favorite book, you’ll also be entered to win prizes like a gift card to Barnes & Noble, or a free autographed copy of “Legend” by Marie Lu! Prize winners will be announced on April 3 when we announce our book tournament champion.

• Round 1: Voting complete for the Sweet 16.
• Round 2: Voting complete for the Elite 8.
• Round 3: Voting complete for the Final 4.
• Round 4: VOTE NOW through March 25 for the final two contending titles.
• Round 5: Vote March 26-April 1 for the book tournament champion.
• April 3: The champion is announced!

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite two contending titles by Monday, March 25 at 5 p.m. You may vote online at teens.dbrl.org or pick up a paper ballot at one of our three branch locations. Limit one ballot per person, per round.  Winners from this round of competition will be announced next Tuesday, March 26.

We recently added “The Rolling Stones: Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965” to the DBRL collection. The film played at Ragtag Cinema last November and currently has a rating of 100% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:

Filmed in 1965 but never released, this is a behind-the-scenes look at the Rolling Stones’ tour in Ireland just after “(I can’t get no) Satisfaction” became a number one hit. Witness the band’s first professionally filmed performances, the riots their appearances created, travel through the Irish countryside by train, time spent in motel rooms during impromptu songwriting sessions, and more.

Check out the film trailer or the official film site for more info.

Not all mystery-lovers want blood and gore, thank you very much. Some of us prefer to follow amateur detectives relying more on wits than weapons and look for books written in the style of Agatha Christie. An organization called Malice Domestic bestows Agatha Awards each year to the best mysteries published in the United States that contain no explicit sex or gratuitous violence. If you are looking for a good traditional mystery, each year’s list of nominations is a great place to start. Below are this year’s nominees for best novel. The 2012 winners will be announced at an awards banquet on May 4, 2013.

• “The Diva Digs up the Dirt” by Krista Davis
• “A Fatal Winter” by G.M. Malliet
• “The Buzzard Table” by Margaret Maron
• “The Beautiful Mystery” by Louise Penny
• “The Other Woman” by Hank Phillippi Ryan

See more nominations for Agatha Awards in a number of categories, as well as past winners, at Malice Domestic’s site.

Not all mystery-lovers want blood and gore, thank you very much. Some of us prefer to follow amateur detectives relying more on wits than weapons and look for books written in the style of Agatha Christie. An organization called Malice Domestic bestows Agatha Awards each year to the best mysteries published in the United States that contain no explicit sex or gratuitous violence. If you are looking for a good traditional mystery, each year’s list of nominations is a great place to start. Below are this year’s nominees for best novel. The 2012 winners will be announced at an awards banquet on May 4, 2013.

• “The Diva Digs up the Dirt” by Krista Davis
• “A Fatal Winter” by G.M. Malliet
• “The Buzzard Table” by Margaret Maron
• “The Beautiful Mystery” by Louise Penny
• “The Other Woman” by Hank Phillippi Ryan

See more nominations for Agatha Awards in a number of categories, as well as past winners, at Malice Domestic’s site.

For Valentines Day, two of our libraries put together blind date with a book displays, allowing readers to check out and take home a “mystery” book. We asked those readers to let us know how the date went. Disaster? Love at first sight? Here are the comments from a couple of our readers, dishing the juicy details of their dates. (Did you go on a blind date with a book? It’s not too late to rate your date!)

Your blind date book: “Dragonswood” by Janet Lee Care
So, how was it? Incredible
What was your first impression? This could be interesting.
Rating: five hearts
Comments: I found my blind date at the Ashland library. An incredible book, it was a fun piece of fantasy fiction with a nod to historical fiction. With excellent writing, great characters and fun adventure, this book is a warm cup of cocoa on a wintry night (with extra marshmallows)!

Your blind date book: “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen
So, how was it? Incredible
What was your first impression? This could be interesting.
Rating: four hearts
Comments: I loved the book display and appreciate you going to so much trouble. It was really fun to get a book I would never have known to pick up. I wanted to comment further about my “date.” At one point, I thought “This guy is really long winded. Does he have to go on and on and on like he does to get the character study made effectively?” If I was really on a date, I’d be running for cover! However, by the end, I was very impressed with the psychological study interwoven with the current tough times we live in. Thanks!!

Your blind date book: “Black Water Rising” by Attica Locke
So, how was it? Better than I expected.
What was your first impression? This could be interesting.
Rating: three hearts
Comments: I was pleasantly surprised by the book. It’s something I probably wouldn’t have found on my own. I would like to see a display like this remain as a permanent fixture at the library.

March 14: “Deep Green” 7:00 p.m. at Tate Hall Auditorium. (via)
March 15: “Tchoupitoulas”starts at Ragtag. (via)
March 21: “God in the Box” 7:00 p.m. at Ragtag. (via)

Wii U Launch Party
Wednesday, April 3 › 6-8 p.m.
Columbia Public Library

Test drive the library’s new Wii U game console. Become a ghost hunter in “Luigi’s Ghost Mansion,” defeat evil aliens in your own “Metroid” spaceship, or team up with your friends to conquer Bowser in the new “Super Mario Bros.” We’ll also have snacks and a selection of the library’s newest teen fiction, music and DVDs for you to check out. Don’t have a library card? We’ll have library card applications on hand for your parent or guardian to sign. Ages 12 and older. Registration begins Tuesday, March 19. Call (573) 443-3161 to sign up!

Grey Gardens is a 1975 documentary film by Albert and David Maysles that was a successful hit. The documentary, filmed in the Maysles brothers “direct cinema” style, introduced the public to a quirky mother and daughter pair both named Edith Beale. The peek into the world of “Little Edie” and “Big Eadie” has fascinated a generation, inspiring several different works based in the world of Grey Gardens.

“The Beales of Grey Gardens”

Released in 2006, this film is composed entirely of left over footage not used in the original documentary. It’s a sequel of sorts, giving more insight into the way the Beale’s lived their life. It was released by the Criterion Collection, who also re-released the original documentary in 2001.

“Grey Gardens — The Musical”

The film was adapted into a musical that premiered in New York in 2006. The musical follows the mother-daughter pair from being high society aristocrats to their isolated home life depicted in the original documentary. DBRL has the original Broadway cast recording on CD.

“HBO’s Grey Gardens”

This is a fictional film based off of the documentary that premiered on HBO in 2009. The film fills in the back stories of both women as played by Drew Barrymore (“Little Edie”) and Jessica Lange (“Big Edie”). The film won several Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

We use the word kin pretty loosely. Personally, I come from a large, blended family and have a network of very close friends, all of whom I consider family or kin. But what is kinship? In today’s world of reproductive technology, shifting ideas about marriage and evolving gender roles, kinship is a slippery term with a fascinating cultural history explored by a number of fields, from anthropology and evolutionary biology to women’s studies and law. March 15-17, the 2013 MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium “Claiming Kin“ will examine the evolution of kin groups and these changing notions of kinship. Visit the symposium’s website to see the full schedule, affiliated events, and to register for all or portions of this free event. Here are just a few of the highlights.

It’s me or the in-laws!: The Rocky Relationship between Couples and Kin
Friday, March 15, 7 pm, Jesse Auditorium
Enjoy this keynote address from Stephanie Coontz (Evergreen State College), author of the award-winning  book “Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage.” Coontz will trace changes in marriage from an institution that supported loyalty to parents to one that competes with it.

Kinship Mitigates Violent Conflict
Saturday, March 16, 9 am, Jesse Auditorium
Martin Daly (University of Missouri) discusses how theories of social evolution are relevant to modern human behavior, particularly violence within families.

It’s All Relative
March 2-31, Perlow-Stevens Art Gallery, Columbia, MO
This art exhibit, held in conjunction with this year’s MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium, explores the evolution of kin groups and evolving notions of kinship.

For memoirs, cultural histories and other works about families and social relationships, see our “Exploring Kinship” catalog list.

We’ve officially moved into the third round of our single elimination teen book tournament. So far, 24 books have been struck from the list to determine the Elite 8. Did Maggie Stiefvater make the cut with her book, “Shiver,” or did Kristin Cashore’s book, ”Graceling,” win? Who survived the last round: “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak or “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green?

March Madness Teen Book Tournament: Elite 8

1. “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
2. “The Giver” by Lois Lowry
3. “Maze Runner” by James Dashner
4. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak
5. “Divergent” by Veronica Roth
6. “Inheritance” by Christopher Paolini
7. “Clockwork Prince” by Cassandra Clare
8. “Graceling” by Kristin Cashore

How the March Madness Teen Book Tournament Works:

Through a series of votes, we are narrowing the library’s list of the 32 most popular teen books to one grand champion. By supporting your favorite book, you’ll also be entered to win prizes like a gift card to Barnes & Noble, or a free autographed copy of “Legend” by Marie Lu! Prize winners will be announced on April 3 when we announce our book tournament champion.

• Round 1: Voting complete for the Sweet 16.
• Round 2: Voting complete for the Elite 8.
• Round 3: VOTE NOW through March 18 for the Final 4.
• Round 4: Vote March 19-25 for the final two contending titles.
• Round 5: Vote March 26-April 1 for the book tournament champion.
• April 3: The champion is announced!

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite four titles by Monday, March 18 at 5 p.m. You may vote online at teens.dbrl.org or pick up a paper ballot at one of our three branch locations. Limit one ballot per person, per round.  The Final Four will be announced next Tuesday, March 19.

We recently added “The gleaners and I” to the DBRL collection. The film by director Agnes Varda was an award winner from 2000 and currently has a rating of 92% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:

Varda’s most recent effort– the first filmed with a digital video camera– focuses on gleaners, those who gather the spoils left after a harvest, as well as those who mine the trash. Some completely exist on the leavings; others turn them into art, exercise their ethics, or simply have fun. The director likens gleaning to her own profession-that of collecting images, stories, fragments of sound, light, and color.

Check out the film trailer or the official film site for more info.

This January Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the lifting of the military’s official ban on women in combat, which will allow women to serve in more job categories in ground combat units. Many say this step is a long overdue acknowledgement of on-the-ground realities of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where combat can be seen anywhere and at any time and is certainly not gender specific. It is also seen as a way to open up more command positions to women, where battlefield experience is critical to being promoted and effectively leading the men and women serving under them.

Even as women have taken on more active roles in combat zones, a woman serving in Iraq or Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow service member than to be killed in the line of fire. This astonishing fact is the starting point of “The Invisible War” (Docurama Films, 2012), a searing, deeply affecting, Oscar-nominated documentary directed by Kirby Dick. It focuses on the epidemic-level problem of sexual assault within the military. The stories of several female, and yes, male, survivors provide a humanizing glimpse into the problem that has been the subject of various scandals and discussed within the halls of Congress numerous times with apparently little effect upon on-the-ground realities for our servicewomen and men.

On Tuesday March 12, at 7 pm, the Columbia Public Library will be hosting a screening and discussion of “The Invisible War.” The viewing is co-sponsored by the Association of American University Women in honor of Women’s History Month.

For those wishing to understand how such events could happen so frequently, with seemingly so few consequences, the book “Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse in America’s Military” (2007) by Dr. Mic Hunter should be required reading. Dr. Hunter clearly outlines why and how sexual abuse in the military happens. He describes in detail current military culture and the code of hypermasculinity that is so prevalent. He states that the viewpoints inherent to the military way of thinking include a different view of pain than that of the civilian world, and that there is a high value placed on control, power and competition. Add polarized gender roles and an underlying endorsement of patriarchy to the mix, and he argues that you have a recipe for an environment rife with sexual harassment and abuse.

For broader and deeper accounts of the effects of war-time deployment upon women, “The Girls Come Marching Home: Stories of Women Warriors Returning from the War in Iraq” (2009) by Kirsten Holmstedt and “When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans” (2010) by Laura Browder are both books that tell the stories of a number of women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“When Janey Comes Marching Home” is a beautiful coffee-table-worthy book with pictures of women soldiers and first-person accounts of how facets of military life such as deployment, motherhood, life in a war zone and returning home have affected these women. Their stories are unembellished, involving and powerful.

“The Girls Come Marching Home” focuses primarily on the combat zone experience of several women veterans and their struggles and experiences in returning home and trying to adjust to normal life once more. What happens in a war zone definitely does not stay in the war zone. Many veterans have long-lasting, difficult struggles in adjusting to civilian life after combat zone deployments.

As part of National Poetry Month in April, we invite Callaway County teens to submit their original poems with a chance to win an award and have their work displayed at the Callaway County Public Library, Central Bank and at teens.dbrl.org. Download an entry form or pick one up at the Callaway County Public Library. Entries due April 6. An awards ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 25 at the library. Co-sponsored by the Auxvasse Creative Arts Program.

I keep my watch set one minute ahead of the clocks at work, and I keep my alarm clock set four minutes ahead of my watch. Go ahead and laugh, but it prevents me from being late. It’s funny, the way we play tricks on our own minds to influence our own behaviors. Collectively, we as a society decide to start our day an hour earlier each spring, and then switch back to an hour later in the fall. But we can’t seem to manage it without changing the clocks to fool ourselves into thinking we’re waking up at the same time we always have.

With Daylight Saving Time beginning this weekend (remember to spring forward an hour Sunday morning), it seems like an opportune moment to ponder time and what it means to us. See some of the titles below to explore this topic from a variety of perspectives.

“A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking is one of the best-known science books of our age. Hawking discusses nothing less than all of space and time – black holes, quarks, questions of whether time moves only in one direction – in language understandable to those of us lacking advanced physics degrees.

“Doctor Who” the BBC science fiction television series, features the adventures of the Doctor, a universe-traveling, eon-hopping Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey.

“The Complete Price Guide to Watches” helps us place a monetary value on the time-pieces we wear or carry. It also provides fascinating details about the history of watches and watch-making.

“Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress” addresses the most pressing issue many of us have with time: how to make the best use of it.

See our catalog list for more titles.

If, after checking out these resources, time still seems to be getting the better of you, remember what Douglas Adams had to say on the topic: “Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.”

Marcus Yallow, the tech-savvy protagonist of Cory Doctorow’s “Little Brother,” is back for more conspiracy-fueled action and intrigue in “Homeland“. Marcus, unemployed and broke, is given an encrypted USB stick by a former rival and told to make its contents public if anything should happen to her.  After witnessing her apparent kidnapping, he begins exploring the files on the stick and finds over 800,000 documents detailing all kinds of questionable, and sometimes illegal, actions taken by agents of the U.S. government. This presents a dilemma for Marcus, as releasing the documents could lose him his newly acquired job, and put him and his friends in danger. Things only get worse when someone else begins leaking the files and he is visited by a pair of goons who demand he destroys the information.

“Homeland” is a pretty engrossing read. It includes a good mixture of suspense and action while also asking some poignant questions about the relationship between a government and its citizens. What should the public be told and what should be kept secret? How far should a government go to maintain order? Doctorow can get caught up in describing cool pieces of technology, such as 3D printers and unmanned aerial vehicles, so if you like gadgets and techno-babble you will love these parts. If it’s not really your thing, this book is still worth it, you just need to get through these sections or skip them.

I highly recommend reading ”Homeland” and “Little Brother.” It  isn’t necessary to read “Little Brother” before “Homeland,” but it is helpful. Most of the characters first appeared in “Little Brother” and some of the events from that book are referenced in “Homeland.”

March 11:  “The House that I Live in” 5:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. Forum 8. (via)
March 11: “Ingredients” 6:00 p.m. at the MU Student Center, free. (via)
March 11: “Miss Representation” 6:00 pm at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, free. (via)
March 12: “The Invisible War” 7:00 p.m. at Columbia Public Library, free. (via)
March 13: “Who Took the Bomp? Le Tigre on Tour” 6:00 p.m. at  Dulany Hall, free. (via)
March 13: “The Imposter” 8:00 p.m. at  Wrench Auditorium, free. (via)
March 14: “The Bro Code” 6:30 p.m. at the MU Student Center, free. (via)

Tuesday, March 12 › 7-8:30 p.m.
Columbia Public Library, Friends Room

Join us for a special showing of ”The Invisible War” (93 min.) at Columbia Public Library. The film is the latest from acclaimed director Kirby Dick who made a recent appearance at the local Based on a True Story conference. This film is sponsored by the local branch of the Association of American University Women and the Columbia Public Library in honor of Women’s History Month. The film will be followed by a discussion moderated by members of the Association of American University Women. Refreshments at 6:30 p.m. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:

A groundbreaking investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. Follows the stories of several idealistic young servicewomen who were raped and then betrayed by their own officers when they courageously came forward to report.

Check out the film trailer or the official film site for more info. While this film is not part of the monthly Center Aisle Cinema series, we’d still encourage you to attend.