Join us June 11 at 6:30pm when we will discuss Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Books On Tap meets at Jimmy's Pub on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous descent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, in 70-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning he learned that six of his fellow climbers hadn't made it back to their camp and were in a desperate struggle for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.

Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people - including himself - to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eye-witness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Tuesday night 17 people showed up at Jimmy's Pub for a lively discussion of Dog Stars by Peter Heller. While not everyone enjoyed the book as much as I did, people pointed out and discussed the parts of the book that spoke to them.

For more information about the book or the author visit www.peterheller.net.

Enjoy apocalytic fiction? Try some of these titles!

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Passage by Justin Cronin
The Postman by David Brin
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Stand by Stephen King
World War Z by Max Brooks
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Feel free to post any of your own favorites!

Did you know that the East Lansing Public Library is a prized example of mid-century modern architecture? Visit the MSU Museum to see ELPL and many more examples of East Lansing buildings that highlight this very popular form of architecture.  

Exhibit:

East Lansing Modern, 1940 - 1970
MSU Museum Ground Floor,  April 28 - August 18, 2013

Upcoming programs:

Tuesday, May 14, 5 p.m.

Film screening: “East Lansing: The City We Know,” 30-minute documentary on the history of the city; followed by exhibition tour

Saturday, June 9, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Workshop: “How to Research Your Home,” led by Whitney Miller, University Archivist at MSU and author of “East Lansing, Collegeville Revisited.”

Check out MSU Museum's website and Michigan Modern for more information about modern architecture in East Lansing and beyond.

Our book for April was The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. It is about a girl who can taste emotions and history in food. When she eats cake, she can tell how the baker felt and where the eggs came from and whether the cows were milked by hand. Our protagonist spends her life avoiding her potential and what makes her special. This is also a metaphor for the book, which carefully avoids its potential or making anything of its premise. This is a book about hiding from emotions and escaping from life. The writing is good but the story is poor.

As the school year ends, Baby Time and Story Time will shift from their regular weekly schedule to a special summer schedule!  We are excited to offer a fantastic programming line-up this summer which will be announced soon! Next week will be the last week of our regularly scheduled Baby Times and Story Times. 

Baby Time will take place on Monday, May 13th, 10:30-11 am.
The last date for Baby Time is Wednesday, May 15th, 10:30-11 am.

The last day for Story Time is Friday, May 17th, 10:30-11:15 am.

Last month we read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender. It was a change of pace for us, being neither sci-fi nor fantasy, but rather magical realism. In this case, as one group member put it, “the book is light on magic and heavy on realism”. The characters are all believable, and their lives a recognizable collection of letdowns and achievements. The language itself is graceful and pleasant, drawing the reader into the protagonists mood. The consensus criticism from the group is that other than being moody, the protagonist, and indeed the other characters, don’t really do much. They spend all their time avoiding the various oddities and conflicts in their lives, and by the end of the book, while they have aged, they haven’t really grown.

This month we return to our roots with the 2013 Nebula and Hugo Award Nominee
The Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed, a fantasy novel inspired by the tales of the 1001 Arabian Nights. Join us on the fouth Wednesday of every month (this time it's the 22nd.)

This year's Edgars, awarded by the Mystery Writers of America for the best mysteries of the year, were announced Thursday night.

This year's winners are:

Best Novel - Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
Best First Novel - The Expats by Chris Pavone
Best Paperback Original - The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters
Best Fact Crime - Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French
Young Adult - Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

For a complete list of winners visit www.theedgars.com

Join the Classics Book Club to read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

Join the Out of This World Book Club as they discuss the 2013 Hugo and Nebula award nominee The Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed.

Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka.

Join us May 14 at 6:30pm when we will discuss The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. Books On Tap meets at Jimmy's Pub the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

A Walgreens's Registered Pharmacist will provide a brief presentation on the basics of Medicare Part D.  Topics will include enrollment, saving money with a preferred Pharmacy and coverage gaps.  After the presentation they will be available for your questions on Medicare Part D.

Brought to you by Walgreens Pharmacy -

65 million Americans, almost 1/3 of the population, has high blood pressure.  A Walgreens Registered Pharmacist will be available at this clinic to take your blood pressure for free.  They will also discuss your results with you and provide some helpful information on managing your blood pressure.

Canceled: Tonight's (4/24) Book Friending Program at (SCENE) Metrospace. We plan to reschedule, new date to be announced soon. We apologize for the convenience.