March Discussion book: The Lady and the Unicorn

The March selection for our monthly book discussion is The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. This work of fiction takes a look at the clouded history of real-life tapestries and creates a tale that explains how they came to be.

This is the second book by Chevalier that has been selected for discussion. The previous book was The Girl with the Pearl Earring. Copies of the discussion book can be picked up at the Reference Desk Discussion questions can be found here.

February Reads

The Manitowoc Public Library currently has four displays set up to pique your reading interest:

The Olympics - books on both winter and summer games to get you ready for the 2010 games in Vancouver.
Get Organized! - with the cold weather upon us, get some ideas on how to get your home and your life reorganized for 2010.
Black History Month - stories of hardship and inspiration.
Great Decisions - get more information on the topics discussed at our popular lecture series.

Check out all our displays when you first walk in the building - the displays are off to the right. The displays change every month, so check back to see what is coming next!

More Agatha Christie mysteries to check out

If you like this month's discussion selection, here are a few other Agatha Christie classics to keep your inner detective on the case:

1. Murder on the Orient Express
The glamorous Orient Express stops during the night, blocked by snowdrifts. Next morning the mysterious Mr. Ratchett is found stabbed in his compartment and untrodden snow shows that the killer is still on board. This glamorous era of train travel provides Poirot with an international cast of suspects and one of his biggest challenges. Predicated on an inspired gimmick, this is one of the great surprise endings in the genre.

2. Hickory Dickory Death
Clever twists abound in this Hercule Poirot mystery which is launched when the detective is alerted when his flawless secretary, Miss Lemon, makes three mistakes in one letter. He ends up investigating a culprit who has stolen a stethoscope, a tube of lipstick, and a cookbook.

3. The ABC Murders
Despite advance warnings, Poirot is unable to prevent the murders of Alice Ascher, Betty Barnard and Carmichael Clarke. Can he stop the ABC Killer before he reaches D? One of the earliest examples of the "serial killer" novel this classic Christie is based on a beautifully simple premise. But how many readers are as clever as Poirot?

4. A Murder is Announced
In the village of Chipping Cleghorn, a murder is announced in the local paper's small ads. As Miss Blacklock's friends gather for what they fondly imagine will be a parlour game, an elaborate murder plot is set in motion. This was Christie's 50th title and remains Miss Marple's finest hour.

5. Death on the Nile
In another Christie classic, Hercule Poirot investigates the death of beautiful young woman, vacationing on a steamer on the Nile, who seemingly is an unlikely target for murder.

6. The Seven Dials Mystery
In one of her early novels, Christie introduces Lady Eileen Brent, also known as "Bundle," who tries to solve a murder involving a secret society at the home of a reclusive tycoon.

7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Hercule Poirot has retired to the village of King's Abbot to cultivate marrows. But when wealthy Roger Ackroyd is found stabbed in his study, he agrees to investigate. A typical village murder mystery; or so it seems until the last chapter with its stunning revelation. This title would still be discussed today even if Christie had never written another book. An unmissable, and still controversial, milestone of detective fiction.

These, and all other Agatha Christie novels, can be found in Adult Fiction under CHRISTIE.

February Discussion Book: And Then There Were None

Don't miss this month's Book Discussion selection, Agatha Christie's classic whodunit And Then There Were None. We will meet on February 18 in the Board Room on the second floor at 6 p.m. and discuss and debate this mystery!

Copies of the And Then There Were None are available at the Reference Desk. You can find questions here.

July Book Discussion: Co. Aytch

Thursday, July 16

6 p.m.

Library Board Room

Written in a folksy style, Watkins recounts funny stories as well as the horrible realities of war as he describes his experiences as a private in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Copies of Co. Aytch by Sam Watkins are available for checkout at the Reference Desk. Questions are also available at the Reference Desk or by clicking here

Still Alice Read-Alikes

If you enjoyed June's book discussion Still Alice by Lisa Genova you might like these titles:

Iris and Friends: A Memoir of Memory and Desire, by John Bayley (Non-fiction 921 Murdoch)
Murdoch and Bayley had a long and loving marriage which ended as Murdoch was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and eventually passed away. This is his endearing chronicle and tribute to their final years together.

Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge (Fiction LODGE)
A funny, moving account of one man's effort to come to terms with deafness and death, aging and mortality, the comedy and tragedy of human life.

The Story of Forgetting, by Stefan Merrill Block (Fiction BLOCK)
Seth Walker, a smart teenager who is trying to cope as his mother declines into a rare early-onset form of Alzheimer's. Another loner, an elderly hunchback named Abel Haggard, who can not forget his losses, lives on the shrinking remnants of his family farm. Though generations apart these two men have an unusual connection.

June Movie: Milk

Tomorrow night, we will be showing Milk, starring Sean Penn. Milk is a biopic on the life of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist who became the first openly gay elected official as a San Francisco supervisor in 1977.

The film won two Academy Awards: Best Actor (Penn) and Best Original Screenplay

Milk will begin at 6 p.m. and will run for 2 hours and 8 minutes in the Balkansky Community Room. A discussion will immediately follow the film.

July's movie: Doubt