CHICAGO 1893

My book group is currently reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It's the story of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (also known as the World's Columbian Exposition). So much happened at this fair...so many "firsts" that I just couldn't stop reading it. The first Ferris Wheel (so large that more than 2,000 people could ride it at one time), the first sampling of Juicy Fruit gum, the first zipper, the introduction of shredded wheat. The list goes on and on.

In addition to the story of the fair and the architects who made it happen, the author tells the story of the first recorded serial killer in the United States, Herman Mudgett. He built a hotel for fair-goers and only rented rooms to single women (who often subsequently went missing under mysterious circumstances.)

The book group is meeting on Tuesday Jan 13 at 7:30 at the Main Library (1007 E Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA). Any interested readers are invited to attend.

Presidential poetry

I just learned that the poet, Elizabeth Alexander, has been chosen to compose a poem for Barack Obama's inauguration. I was unfamiliar with Ms. Alexander's works, so I took a look at her web site, www.elizabethalexander.net, and learned that she is a professor at Yale, was nominated for the Pulitzer prize in 2005, and has written several books of poetry for both adults and kids. The library owns two of her titles: Miss Crandall's School for Young Ladies & Little Misses of Color: Poems and The Black Interior: Essays. I'm sure that her involvement with the presidential inauguration will generate interest in her writing, so I plan to order more of her poetry for the library.

Young @ Heart

Recently I wrote about a DVD for the monthly report to the library's board of trustees. I am such a fan of this film that I'm going to repeat what I said to the board. If you were to hear that a group of senior citizens go around singing rock songs (and we're talking all types of rock), would you be a little intrigued? I was, and thanks to several FVRL staff who have watched "Young @ Heart" and become passionate advocates for it, I have become a "Young @ Heart" groupie. Inspirational, moving, funny, this documentary, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures, follows the Young at Heart musical chorus based in Northampton, Massachusetts. With an average age of 80, members from all walks of life regularly meet to learn and perform atypical songs for this age group such as "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth, Talking Head's "Road to Nowhere," and "Fix You" by Coldplay. This film may sound quirky (which it is), but it is truly one of the most amazing stories I've ever watched, and by the end of the DVD, I was attached to each singer. Be prepared to laugh and cry as you watch "Young @ Heart," and please, please share it with your friends and loved ones.