Nonfiction

This weekend our Artisans on the Plaza series continues with Marie Jeff. This local folk artist has been featured on WBHM’s Tapestry . Jeff’s mediums are gourds and fabrics.

This Sunday she will be demonstrating how she uses fabric scraps to create pieces ranging from wall hangings to pillows to purses. A beautiful way to reuse and recreate!

If you are interested in textile arts, or enjoy seeing an artist at work, stop and visit on Sunday April 18th at 2:30 p.m. on the Library Plaza.

The Artisans on the Plaza series is funded by the Friends of the Hoover Public Library.

Joe Sacco is a Maltese-American comic artist and journalist that forged a name for himself by combining his love of drawing comics with his journalism education. While traveling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he eventually wound up in the Middle East and did a series of comics called Palestine. After his travels in the Middle East, he visited Eastern Europe (specifically Sarajevo and Goražde in Bosnia) and chronicled his experiences there during the Bosnian War in books such as Safe Area Goražde.

Sacco’s works combine his journalism training with cartooning and his razor sharp wit. His works have earned him widespread recognition and accolades including the American Book Award, the Eisner Award and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

Hoover Library carries many of Sacco’s works and they’re worth checking out for a different take on non-fiction and journalism writing.

Safe Area Goražde - 949.7 SAC
Palestine: The Special Edition - 956.94054 SAC
Footnotes From Gaza - 956.04 SAC New Book
War's End: Profiles From Bosnia 1995-96 - 949.7 SAC
The Fixer and Other Stories - 949.7 SAC  

Now that there's a bit of chill in the air, check out fall sports books, magazines and documentaries from the Nonfiction Department. See our display in the hallway with books on football, tailgating, basketball, soccer, volleyball and baseball (since it's World Series time.)

Don't forget that we have magazines such as Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News and team specific publications like Yea Alabama 2009 that can be checked out. So whether you're a fan of the Tide, Tigers, Blazers or some other team, come to the Nonfiction Department for all of your fall sports needs.

Outside Magazine sent Jon Krakauer to climb Mt. Everest in May, 1996, so he could gather information to write an article on how commericialized the climbing of the mountain had become. They got more than they bargained for. The weather on Mt. Everest that May was one of the worst ever, resulting in five climbers being killed and one marred for life.

Krakauer writes an astonishing first-hand account of those events He is critical of himself as well as the others who were climbing. Such a sobering occurrence in which several seasoned climbers were killed left Krakauer trying to put the puzzle pieces together to help explain why this tragedy happened. He comes up with several theories that are disturbing and give one pause for thoughtful consideration.

-J.C.

Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
796.509 KRA

Elizabeth Gilbert had nothing to lose. She had both a failed marriage and relationship behind her. She was desperate to leave the U.S. and search for what was out there for her for the rest of her life.

Fortunately, her publisher agreed to give her an advance on the book she would write, so, off she went to Italy, India and Indonesia for a 15 month adventure. Afterwards she wrote "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia".

In Italy, she ate. In India, she prayed. In Indonesia, she fell in love.

The story is inspirational on several levels. She saves the best for last. The more your read, the better it gets. There is a satisfying ending.

The movie is being filmed now and will be out next year. Julia Roberts plays Elizabeth Gilbert and Javier Bardem her love interest.

-J.C.

Eat, pray, love : one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert.
AVAILABLE FORMATS
Book: 910.4 GIL
Audiobook: AB CD 910.4 GIL
Large Print: LP 910.4 GIL
En Español: SP 910.4 GIL

Did you know that there are several tax credits available to you if you make energy saving upgrades to your home this year?

Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency includes:

Tax Credits for Consumers Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, in 2009 & 2010 (for existing homes only) for:

• Windows and Doors
• Insulation
• Roofs (Metal and Asphalt)
• HVAC
• Water Heaters (non-solar)
• Biomass Stoves

Tax credits are available at 30% of the cost, with no upper limit through 2016 (for existing homes & new construction) for:

• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• Solar Panels
• Solar Water Heaters
• Small Wind Energy Systems
• Fuel Cells

Find out more at www.energystar.gov/taxcredits.

Then visit our GREEN LIVING section for books about environmentally friendly home design, improvement and sustainable lifestyle. New titles are added all the time, so check back often!

In 2007, English soccer star David Beckham announced he was signing a five year contract with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. This move shocked the soccer world in that MLS is generally considered a "B-League" on the world stage and Beckham was then plying his trade with Real Madrid, one of the elite super clubs of the world in one of the world's elite soccer leagues. Part of Beckham's reasoning was that he wanted to help soccer grow in the United States and eventually become on par with football, basketball and baseball in terms of popularity.

This signing was heralded by the Galaxy and MLS as the ushering in of soccer into the mainstream of America seeing as Beckham was not only a soccer superstar, but was married to a pop star (Posh Spice of the Spice Girls), had a modeling career, countless endorsement deals and counted the likes of Tom Cruise among his close friends. At the time, Beckham was easily the most famous athlete in the world. The world's most famous athlete playing in the world's celebrity epicenter...what could possibly go wrong?

Sports Illusrated writer Grant Wahl details what went wrong and to what extent in The Beckham Experiment. The disparity in pay between Beckham and some his teammates is incredible and an understandable source of irritation for some. Beckham was receiving a salary of $6.5 million per year and some of his teammates earned less than $15,000 per year (no, that's not a typo.) Long time Galaxy star Landon Donovan was more or less forced to surrender his captaincy of the team to Beckham after a very short time. Beckham's entourage was also pressuring the Galaxy's management and ended up pulling many of the strings behind the scenes, including the hiring and firing of coaches and front office personnel. So far, during Beckham's tenure with the Galaxy, not only have the Galaxy not become the most superior team in the league, they've gotten worse (they haven't made the playoffs once since Beckham's arrival...and they won the league in 2005.)

The Beckham Experiment is a fascinating tale of the collision of cultures, sports taking a backseat to celebrity, egos colliding, and good management going by the wayside in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

796.334 WAH New Book - The Beckham Experiment

"Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolutions. But in Estonia, song was the weapon of choice ..." - Filmmakers James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty

This impressive documentary combines amazing archival footage along with contemporary interviews with leaders and participants of Estonia's "singing revolution" that not only gave the Estonian people their own nation, but also helped topple the Soviet Union. One of the more impressive visuals is a human chain that literally stretched the entire length of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania combined. Another memorable shot included is of 25,000 people on stage singing patriotic songs in protest of the Soviet occupation of Estonia.

The bravery and fortitude of the tiny Baltic nation of 1.3 million people is sure to inspire when you see how they peacably stood up against their oppressors (including the Nazis and the Soviets) with the power of song. 

DOC 947.98 SIN New DVD - The Singing Revolution

About a year ago, anonymous English street artist Banksy painted a piece on an abandoned gas station in Ensley (see Birmingham Weekly story about it here.) The controversial piece lasted only about a day and a half before it was stolen. Banksy did the piece during a tour across the US that was centered around doing a lot of Hurricane Katrina themed pieces in New Orleans around the third anniversary of the storm.

The nonfiction department recently added two Banksy books to the collection so you can read more about the underground art icon that graced our fair city with his art:

751.73 BAN - Banksy Locations & Tours

751.73 BAN - Banksy's Bristol: Home Sweet Home

When I picked up Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift’s book The Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper, I didn’t realize that it was a cookbook based on a Public Radio show. All I cared about was the gorgeous spoonful of a bright golden yellow potato, onion and almond concoction (“Almond-Turmeric Potatoes” p. 289) pictured on the cover. I am a huge fan of Public Radio, though, so when I finally settled into a comfy chair at home and made this discovery, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve never heard a food show on the radio before (WBHM doesn’t carry it) but it makes me happy to know one is out there.

Everything about this book was a pleasant surprise. There are too many cookbooks that look pretty but don’t deliver the kind of easy and interesting recipes that I like. This one starts simple with “Dressing-in-a-Bowl Simple Salad” and works up to fancier dishes like “Rosemary Figs with Honeyed Fresh Cheese”, all the while educating the reader on tools, techniques, cooking science and food history and culture. There are frequent “Building the Library” sidebars highlighting new and classic cookbooks that are relevant to the nearby recipe or anecdote. The tips are really great. My favorite one suggests finding a nice smooth palm-sized rock and using it, instead of the potentially dangerous side of a large knife, to smash garlic bulbs for easier peeling.

I got a chance to catch the show while driving through Knoxville, TN a couple weeks ago. They rated the flavor and quality of veggie burgers and had an interview with a master cheesemonger. Even though it’s not available through our local NPR station, podcasts of each episode can be downloaded from the website splendidtable.publicradio.org.

The book, of course, is available right here at the Hoover Public Library. Visit the Cooking section in the Nonfiction Department.

641.54 KAS. The Splendid Table's, How to Eat Supper : Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. Copyright 2008.

-Deni in Nonfiction