Hoover Library Blog

Love is in the air, even if you're just 8-12 years old.  Valentine's Day gives us the opportunity to show our family and friends just how much we care about them.  And the Hoover Public Library is here to help you get creative about it!  Our Tween Scene program for this month is How-To Crew Makes Pop-Up Cards & Candy Necklaces on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 6:30 pm.  Guess what we'll be making?  Did you say pop-up cards and candy necklaces?  Good guess!  Call 444-7833 if you want to be part of this heart and candy-filled craft extravaganza.

DID YOU KNOW?
Our Hoover Public Library Director Linda Andrews started the JCLC Valentines for Children's Hospital campaign in 1983 when she was still at the Eastwood Mall Branch of Birmingham Public Library.  That means this is our 29th year--WOW!

We will be collecting valentines for this year's campaign February 1-11, 2012.  Please bring your signed homemade and/or store bought valentines to the Preschool Desk and receive a holiday prize.  If you plan on sharing the love, please follow these guidelines from Children's Hospital:
1. NO candy or gum
2. NO balloons or rubber bands
3. NO religious messages

Still have questions?  Call 444-7833.

To understand Stieg's work, I said, one had to know who he really was.--pg. 185

I picked up this book yearning to learn more about the author who died before his novel legacy was even published. That fact in itself intrigued me; I just really wanted to learn more about Stieg Larsson's life from an unbiased source. With this relatively short biography, you get the straight facts--no beating around the bush, just the candid and honest facts--from the one constant presence in his life: Eva Gabrielsson.

For thirty-two years, Eva Gabrielsson was Stieg's life partner--no, they never married, though not for lack of trying. Job circumstances, politics, and then Stieg's untimely death prevented them from ever making their relationship formal and legal. Because they were not married, legally, Eva was left with nothing--she can only own half of her apartment, has no access to the bank accounts they shared, and could not legally take any part in or have control over the publication of Stieg's novels. But most of all, she just misses Stieg, her "soul mate".

A general overview of Stieg's interesting life: He was raised by his grandparents in a little cabin in Northern Sweden. He got involved in political activism at a young age, and consequently met Eva at a support meeting of the Front National de Liberation in Vietnam. Stieg had so many ideas, and Eva encouraged him to start writing about them and sending in his pieces to local newspapers. Thus, his journalism career exploded. He was involved in many controversial political arguments through the articles he wrote for many different newspapers and magazines all across Europe. Together, with a few others, he and Eva founded the magazine Expo, which wrote unbiased articles about the different political dilemmas they saw, as well as their own ideas. And because of his involvement in journalism and political activism, his life (and, consequently, Eva's too) was threatened on multiple occasions by multiple groups and gangs, compromising his physical safety. And yet:

"Without Stieg's battles and crusades, The Millennium Trilogy would never have seen the light of day. His struggle is the heart, brain, and brawn of that saga."--pg. 64

What I found absolutely fascinating is that almost every detail found in The Millennium Trilogy is autobiographical in some form or fashion, whether it be similar situations and problems Stieg dealt with in real life, or creating his settings based upon his favorite spots around town, or paying homage to important people in his life by literally naming a character after them. In many ways, Mikael Blomkvist is very similar to Stieg Larsson, from the way he dresses to his passion for investigative journalism to his obsessive love of coffee. And the addresses where all of the characters lived in his novels? They came from the many walks that he and Eva took through the parts of town where her architectural projects were taking place, or from the plans sitting in her office, or from her most current work. The Millennium Trilogy was born from the people and places in Stieg's life, and this book series (intended to be 10 novels) was the impetus in Stieg taking life slower and remembering how much he cherished Eva.

Yet, in spite of all of those fascinating details, the center of this biography/memoir, to me, is the emotional journey that Eva is forced into (and still faces everyday) when Stieg suddenly passed away in November of 2004. Her unconditional love and affection for her "soul mate" is so incredibly evident as she recalls his death, the preparations, the funeral, and the mythological cursing ceremony she holds for all of those individuals (work-related and political) that pushed Stieg into such a premature death. Her grief is such a prominent part of this entire biography, and you can feel her love for Stieg flow straight off the page. She includes snippets from her diary in 2005, where she kept epiphanies as well as accounts of the mundane daily life, saying that "the diary was a way of proving to myself that I was alive" (pg. 159).

A majority of what is published in this diary chapter deals with the legal aftermath of Stieg's death, and of his father and brother's hostile takeover of all of Stieg Larsson's estate, including The Millennium Trilogy. This part of the biography also describes the deep emotional turmoil Eva was left in after Stieg's death and how she learns to survive and to keep on living. All that she continually fights for is extremely inspiring to those who knew and loved Stieg, but also to those who got to know him through reading his works. Eva's struggles have gone global, and many people have joined up in her fight not only to gain control of Stieg's intellectual estate (books, articles, etc), but also to change the law so that other couples in their situation do not have to suffer through what she had--and still has--to go through.

"The Millennium Trilogy is not just a good story made up by a good author of good crime novels. These books talk about the need to fight to defend one's ideals, and the refusal to give up, to sell oneself, or to grovel before someone powerful."--pg. 195.

This is what Stieg Larsson did until the day of his death, and this is what Eva Gabrielsson continues to do to this day--to fight for what they believe in, and to refuse to give up.

This is an quick-read if you are looking for/needing to read a biography. But more importantly, like The Millennium Trilogy stresses over and over again, this biography gives you the truth about Stieg Larsson's life, about his death, and about what happened after his death, all told by the person that knew him best. What a heart-wrenching and interesting read that answers a lot of questions surrounding both the novels and his purpose for writing them. Fans of the novels should definitely read it! You will not be disappointed!

-JP

The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, video, and audiobooks for children and teens at its Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, Texas on Monday, January 23, 2012.  The full list can be found at this website.  Here are a few of the highlights.  Several library favorites made the list, but there were some disappointed Hoover Public Librarians this morning.  How do you feel about this supposed best-of-the-best?

Newbery Medal
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

Newbery Honors
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Caldecott Medal
A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka

Caldecott Honors
Blackout by John Rocco
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Me . . . Jane by Patrick McDonnell

Printz Medal
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Printz Honors
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
The Returning by Christine Hinwood
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvery
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award
Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom by Shane W. Evans

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Soldier Bear by Bibi Dumon Tak (translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson)

Odyssey Award
Rotters by Daniel Kraus, narrated by Kirby Heyborne

Pure Belpre (Author) Award
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Pure Belpre (Illustrator) Award
Diego Rivera: His World and Ours illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award
Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider

It's time for the first Tween Scene program of 2012, and it's going to be a great one!  Hot Reads, Sizzling Pizza on Tuesday, January 24 at 6:30 p.m. gives 8 to 12-year-olds a chance to introduce fellow readers to some of their favorite books.  Which means they will also have a chance to discover a bunch of future favorites.  And, of course, there's free pizza too!  Call 444-7833 to let us know you want to be part of the fun.

Check out the real story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the focus of the new George Lucas film, Red Tails:

Dogfights Season Two

Nightfighters

The Tuskegee Airmen

What do the following items have in common?

1. Oranges
2. Red envelopes
3. Fireworks
4. Dragons

The answer is . . . Chinese New Year!  If you want to find out more, stop by the Kid Zone this Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 10:30 a.m.  for Year of the Dragon.  There will be Chinese folktales, yummy food, and several fun crafts to help us learn about the holiday.

Local favorite Larry Moore, The Magic Man is coming back to the Hoover Public Library!  His magical comedy show will be on the Plaza this Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 6:30 pm.  Families should be prepared to laugh and be amazed.  Oh, and I should probably warn you that toilet paper will play a major role in the entertainment.  This FREE event does not require a reservation, but make sure you come a little early to get a good parking spot and a prime seat.

The Hoover Public Library will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 16, 2012.  We will reopen at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17.

If you're looking for something to do to celebrate the holiday, there are some great ideas on Magic City Post.Com.

This is the THIRD TIME I have attempted to make this blog post.  Technology has not been my friend.  But, as they say, third time's a charm!

Fourteen of us pulled ourselves away from the pre-LSU vs UA mania to discover some amazing award-winning books at Reader's Studio: Blue Ribbon Books on Monday, January 9, 2012.  We were introduced to big-eared mice, regurgitating wolves, and even flying frogs.

Alonna - The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy (ALSC Childrens' Notable Book)

Aziza - Tuesday by David Wiesner (Caldecott Medal)

Emily & Maddie - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Caldecott Medal)

Ethan - To the Top of the World: Adventures with Arctic Wolves by Jim Brandenburg (Orbis Pictus Honor)

Grace - Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (Caldecott Medal) 

Isabella - The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Newbery Medal)

Juliana - The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Newbery Medal)

Miss Katie Jane - Two biographies about Marian Anderson - When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan (Sibert Honor) & The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman (Sibert Medal)

Mark - Flotsam by David Wiesner (Caldecott Medal)

Miss Polly - A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park & Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty by Linda Glaser (both won the Jane Addams Children's Book Award)

Sophia - Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (Newbery Honor)

We also created our own book awards.  Check out the pics to see what you've been missing!  Then call 444-7833 to register for our next Reader's Studio, a super-cool book club for grades 2-5.  We will delve into Fractured Fairy Tales on Monday, February 13, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.