Daniel Boone Regional Library

When I think of the word “impostor,” I generally picture someone who is up to no good, typically a criminal that needs to conceal his identity in order to trick others or avoid capture.  However, it turns out that there are very good reasons for a person to pretend to be someone her or she is not.  In “Can I See Your I.D.?: True Stories of False Identities“, Chris Barton profiles ten impostors with a wide variety of motivations.

You will certainly find several scoundrels in the pages of this book, including the legendary Frank Abagnale.  These are the people who use false identities for fun, profit or just because it is in their nature. But there are also those who impersonated others to avoid dire situations, such as the young Jewish man who pretended to be a member of the Hitler Youth to avoid death or Ellen Craft, who impersonated a slave owner so she and her husband could escape to freedom.  They are all really intriguing stories and I highly recommend giving this book a try.  The author also summarizes his three keys to pulling off a false identity, although I don’t encourage trying it.

The profiles are pretty brief and the book is a quick read at around 120 pages, so if you would like to do some further reading, here are a few titles that expand on a few of the stories:

• “Catch Me If You Can” by Frank Abagnale (made into a major motion picture)
• “Black Like Me” by John Howard Griffin
• “She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers of the Civil War” by Bonnie Tsui

February 10: “Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival” 2:00 pm at the Blue Note. (via)
February 11:  “How to Survive a Plague” 5:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. Forum 8. (via)
February 13: “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” 6:30 p.m. at Columbia Public Library, free. (via)
February 13: “Deep Green” 7:00 p.m. at MU’s Stewart Hall, free. (via)

We recently added “The Endless Summer” to the DBRL collection. The film is a classic documentary from 1966 that made it into the national film registry and currently has a rating of 100% from critics at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from our catalog:

They call it The endless summer, the ultimate surfing adventure, crossing the globe in search of the perfect wave. From the uncharted waters of West Africa, to the shark-filled seas of Australia, to the tropical paradise of Tahiti and beyond, two California surfers, Robert August and Mike Hynson, accomplish in a few months what most people never get to do in a lifetime: they live their dream.

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

Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements of African-Americans and the important role they have played throughout American history. We celebrate Black History Month every February because it is the birth month of both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, two important figures in the abolitionist movement. This year’s theme highlights two important anniversaries in the history of African-Americans and the United States: the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington. In honor of Black History Month, we are showcasing some library materials about the end of slavery and the civil rights movement.

Previously, we recommended some works of nonfiction; here are some fiction titles. Enjoy!

“Kindred” by Octavia Butler
Dana is a black woman living in California in the late ’70s. One day, as she is celebrating her birthday with her new husband, she is snatched from her life and transported to the antebellum South. There, she saves the life of Rufus, the son of a plantation owner. Dana is thrown into the past repeatedly – always when Rufus is in need of help – but the visits get longer and more dangerous, and she must pass as a slave in order to survive. “Kindred” is an engrossing, page-turning examination of the ways in which the past influences the future and how the country’s legacy of slavery continues to affect us even today.

“Some Sing, Some Cry” by Ntozake Shange and Ifa Bayeza
“Some Sing, Some Cry” is a bittersweet story of seven generations of women in an African-American family and the men and music in their lives. From Ma Bette, a slave on a North Carolina rice plantation, to her descendant Tokyo Walker, the Mayfields and their descendants are blessed with a great gift for music. This gift helps them to resist and overcome oppression and express themselves despite the forces that try to silence them. Authors Ntozake Shange, a playwright, poet and novelist and her sister, Ifa Bayeza, a playwright, producer and conceptual theater artist, have created a glorious, moving work that readers who enjoy generational sagas like “The Sandcastle Girls” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns” are sure to enjoy.

“An Eighth of August” by Dawn Turner Trice
Since the late 1800s, the people of Halley’s Landing, Illinois have commemorated the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation with a grand festival. People come from all over to pay tribute to the legacy of the former slaves who founded their town. This year, however, the town is reeling from the death of El, an 11-year-old boy. The Eighth of August celebration brings together a diverse and engaging cast of characters, who must help each other to heal and forgive one another.

Teen Game Night
Friday, February 22 › 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Southern Boone County Public Library

Challenge your friends to a video game or board game tournament. We’ll have various games available, or challenge your creative side by making something with Shrinky Dinks. Refreshments provided. Please enter through the back door. Ages 12 and older. To register, please call (573) 657-7378 after Friday, February 8.

We recently added “Pina” to the DBRL collection. The award winning film played last year at Ragtag and currently has a rating of 95% from audiences at Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s a synopsis from the official website:

PINA is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009. PINA is a film for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders. He takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery into a new dimension: straight onto the stage with the legendary Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble, he follows the dancers out of the theatre into the city and the surrounding areas of Wuppertal – the place, which for 35 years was the home and centre for Pina Bausch’s creativity.

Check out the film trailer or the official film site for more info. For another documentary featuring choreographer Pina Bausch you can check out Dancing dreams.

The 600s could be my favorite area of nonfiction. Traditional descriptions of the Dewey Decimal System identify the 600s as  ”applied sciences” or “medicine and technology.” Basically, this is where you find information on how people make use of science and nature. Books on gardening, parenting, exercise, health, car repair, business management, pets, cooking and more all make their home in the 600s. As a foodie, I love to browse the cookbooks and food memoirs, and here are a few gems I found in a recent stroll through the stacks.

• “Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys” by David Tanis.
  “Time at the table is time well spent,” writes Tanis, chef at the critically-acclaimed restaurant Chez Panisse. Tanis does not give you thirty-minute meals or short cuts. Instead, he encourages you to enjoy the journey of cooking, of using seasonal and local ingredients and treating them with care. His techniques are simple, and his recipes are wrapped in eloquently written personal anecdotes. The first section of the book, in fact, deals entirely with his own intimate kitchen rituals, small bites or meals he makes for himself or how the act of peeling an apple can be like meditation. The meat of the book offers up menus to share with a family or gathering of friends. I personally cannot wait for spring to get here so I can try my hand at asparagus scrambled eggs and fennel soup.
• “Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer” by Novella Carpenter.
  With a name like Novella, you’re kind of destined to be a writer. And as the child of a couple of back-to-the-land hippies, growing vegetables and raising pigs in the abandoned lot next to your inner-city Oakland home might also seem the natural thing to do. Carpenter describes her adventures in ghetto farming in a rollicking, wry style, making this food memoir stand out from the pack of recent books about local food movement experiments.
• “The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food” by Judith Jones.
  If the name Judith Jones sounds familiar to you, chances are you’re a fan of Julia Child (or have at least read and/or watched “Julie and Julia,” the story of Julie Powell spending a year tackling every recipe in “The Art of French Cooking“). Jones is the editor who championed and published Child’s cookbook, and in this memoir, she details her life-long relationship with  cuisine and the major role she played in this country’s food revolution.

Found any treasures while browsing the bottom shelves? Let us know in the comments!

The 600s could be my favorite area of nonfiction. Traditional descriptions of the Dewey Decimal System identify the 600s as  ”applied sciences” or “medicine and technology.” Basically, this is where you find information on how people make use of science and nature. Books on gardening, parenting, exercise, health, car repair, business management, pets, cooking and more all make their home in the 600s. As a foodie, I love to browse the cookbooks and food memoirs, and here are a few gems I found in a recent stroll through the stacks.

• “Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys” by David Tanis.
  “Time at the table is time well spent,” writes Tanis, chef at the critically-acclaimed restaurant Chez Panisse. Tanis does not give you thirty-minute meals or short cuts. Instead, he encourages you to enjoy the journey of cooking, of using seasonal and local ingredients and treating them with care. His techniques are simple, and his recipes are wrapped in eloquently written personal anecdotes. The first section of the book, in fact, deals entirely with his own intimate kitchen rituals, small bites or meals he makes for himself or how the act of peeling an apple can be like meditation. The meat of the book offers up menus to share with a family or gathering of friends. I personally cannot wait for spring to get here so I can try my hand at asparagus scrambled eggs and fennel soup.
• “Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer” by Novella Carpenter.
  With a name like Novella, you’re kind of destined to be a writer. And as the child of a couple of back-to-the-land hippies, growing vegetables and raising pigs in the abandoned lot next to your inner-city Oakland home might also seem the natural thing to do. Carpenter describes her adventures in ghetto farming in a rollicking, wry style, making this food memoir stand out from the pack of recent books about local food movement experiments.
• “The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food” by Judith Jones.
  If the name Judith Jones sounds familiar to you, chances are you’re a fan of Julia Child (or have at least read and/or watched “Julie and Julia,” the story of Julie Powell spending a year tackling every recipe in “The Art of French Cooking“). Jones is the editor who championed and published Child’s cookbook, and in this memoir, she details her life-long relationship with  cuisine and the major role she played in this country’s food revolution.

Found any treasures while browsing the bottom shelves? Let us know in the comments!

As an area teen looking for help applying for college, the best place for you to start is with your high school guidance counselor. Planning for college begins your junior year and your guidance counselor can help you set goals and meet the many required deadlines. Below is a list of links to area high school guidance departments. You’ll find a plethora of contacts and web resources to help you fund your education.

FAFSA Frenzy
This program is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and its goal is to assist students and families in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). As mentioned in an earlier post, this is the mandatory application used by all colleges and universities in determining your eligibility for grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships.

Review the dates and times for this free event which will be hosted at Fulton High School, Hickman High School, and the Columbia Career Center. And don’t forget to bring:

• Your parents’ and your 2012 W-2 forms
• Copies of your parents’ and your 2012 tax forms, if they are ready. If you or your parents have not yet filed your 2012 returns before you attend a FAFSA Frenzy event, be sure to bring any statements of interest earned in 2012, any 1099 forms, and any other forms required to complete your taxes.
• Student PIN and parent PIN. You may apply for your PINs at www.pin.ed.gov before attending the FAFSA Frenzy.

Hickman High School Guidance Department
Learn about the A+ program, local scholarships, and helpful testing info.

Rockbridge High School Guidance Department
This site lists information related to the A+ Program, college visit opportunities, post-secondary information, and scholarships.

Fulton High School Guidance Department
This site provides senior scholarship information, financial aid and college links, as well as a list of educational opportunities and other events.

Hallsville High School Guidance Center
Learn more about available scholarships, financial aid, and career options.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 • 6:30 p.m.
Columbia Public Library, Friends Room
Director Chad Freidrichs in attendance!

Destroyed in a dramatic and highly-publicized implosion, the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex has become a widespread symbol of failure amongst architects, politicians and policy makers. “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth” (84 min.) explores the social, economic and legislative issues that led to the decline of conventional public housing in America, and the city centers in which they were built, while tracing the personal and poignant narratives of several of the residents of the notorious Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex in St. Louis. Director Chad Freidrichs will lead a Q&A afterwards. Freidrichs teaches film and video courses in the Digital Filmmaking program at Stephens College and has also directed the film Jandek on Corwood.