Winners of the Pulitzer

The 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners were recently announced, and the library owns almost all of the titles. The only title we don't yet own is the winner for drama, "Ruined" by Lynn Nottage. Her play is scheduled to be published for general readership at the end of this year, and we'll be adding it to the collection. For the other categories, here are the winners:

Fiction - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
History - The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed
Biography or Autobiography - American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
Poetry - The Shadow of Sirius by W.S. Merwin
General Nonfiction - Slavery by Another Name: The Re-enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon

Check out some incredible writing!

COLUMBINE 10 YEARS LATER

Monday is the 10th anniversary of Columbine. I remember where I was when the story broke because I was home sick that day, napping in a recliner in Louisville KY. The news broke in with coverage, and I remember watching an injured young man jumping/falling out of a window trying to escape. His name was Patrick Ireland, and he did survive although he suffered a shot to the head and had to learn to walk and talk again. My co-blogger, Jan, said that she was the Telephone Information supervisor at that time, and she remembers that her husband called her to let her know something had happened and then she used the internet to find out more information. One of the journalists covering this story from the beginning is Dave Cullen, and he has a new book out called Columbine that has been getting a lot of press in the past few weeks. The reviews have all been quite favorable, and I just picked up a copy myself last weekend. Cullen has spent 10 years working on this story. He has interviewed countless individuals dozens of times and read all of the documents released by the investigation. His website has extensive information including links to the Jeffco Sheriff's Office final report on the shootings, transcripts of the "basement tapes", and samples from the killers' journals. The story is fascinating, compelling, disturbing, and a recommended read from this librarian.

Other books about Columbine in the FVRL collection include:
The journals of Rachel Scott : a journey of faith at Columbine High
Rachel's tears : the spiritual journey of Columbine martyr Rachel Scott
Nobody left to hate : teaching compassion after Columbine