Mash-Ups! Or What If Lincoln Chased Vampires???

Something has been happening to classic books… what you ask? Mash-ups!! So what is a mash-up?  A mash-up is when a classic book or character is “mashed-up” with zombies or vampires or other creatures of the night! Horror with a classic twist. It started with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steve Hockensmith. Here are some other really fun and scary examples you might like.

Jane Slayre by Sherri Browning Erwin

Jane Slayre, a courageous orphan who spurns the detestable vampyre kin who raised her, sets out on the advice of her ghostly uncle to hone her skills as the fearless slayer she is meant to be. When she takes a job as a governess at a country estate, she falls head-over-heels for her new master, Mr. Rochester, only to discover he is hiding a secret in the attic, his first wife… oh oh!

Alice in Zombieland by Nickolas Cook 

When Alice follows the Black Rat down into the open grave, she falls and falls, and soon finds herself in an undead nightmare. Following the Rat, she ventures further into this land of monsters, encountering characters both creepy and madcap along the way!

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

While Abraham Lincoln is  widely lauded for saving a  Union and  freeing millions of slaves, his                    valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for  hundreds of years. Gifted with legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, young Abe Lincoln sets out to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of a vampire.

Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson

Jim Pike was the world’s biggest Star Trek fan-until two tours of duty in Afghanistan destroyed his faith in the human race. But when hundreds of Trekkies arrive in his lobby for a science-fiction  convention, Jim finds  himself surrounded by costumed Klingons, Vulcans, and Ferengi-plus a strange virus that transforms its carriers into zombies!

-Christine J.

Feed Your eReader

Stop by the Taste of Bolingbrook Saturday from 2pm – 7pm and checkout some of the popular eReaders Debra and I  will be demonstrating for the public. It will be easy to find us – just look for the Fountaindale Public Library’s Bookmobile!

History Re-Imagined

In my historical fiction perusals of Amazon.com, I had come across the title “One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd” by Jim Fergus. After seeing it several times, I finally checked out a copy. The story goes as follows, there is this fictional author who had always heard about his Great Great Grandmother May Dodd, who went into an insane asylum, or “out west” as the family called it, and vanished from family history. While researching some historical papers, he comes upon  the “Brides for Indians” program. The US Government, under Ulysses S. Grant, wants to assemble a group of women to intermarry with the Cheyenne Indians,  in order to assimilate them into the white world and in exchange get 1000 horses. There is outrage of course and the program is called off before it begins, but lo and behold, many women start volunteering to take part in the venture. Quietly, it is reinstated.

As the number of brides falls short of the promised 1000, the program is extended into jails and, in May’s case, insane asylums. May was put into an asylum by her wealthy family for the insanity of living with and having two children by a man, a poor man, whom she is not married to. Life in an insane asylum post civil war isn’t good. It is horrible. May hears about the program and figures it can’t be worse than what she is enduring and volunteers. And there is where our adventure begins, as we read her story in the journals she writes in, every step of the way, as we see her marry Little Wolf and live life on the prairie as an Native American does. We also follow the lives of several of her travel mates, a faded Southern belle, a proud ex-slave,  a religious fanatic, Irish twins and many others. All have stories, interesting stories.

The story moves along well and is absolutely brilliant. The author vividly captures the feel of the west and the stories of the women. Along with the tragedy of the fate of the Native Americans, be it through whiskey or white man, there are some valid comments of what is society, what is religion and who has the right to say what people should do and believe. I highly recommend this touching and fascinating book to anyone interested in this period of history.  I really felt that I was reading an actual set of journals, getting a glimpse into something I would never see otherwise. As I read the last page, I wanted to start it all over again. Yes, it is that good. I still miss May and her friends.

-Christine

Experience a musical quest with the Healing Winds Native American Flute Ensemble

Experience an uplifting and soothing musical experience provided by the Healing Winds Native American Flute Ensemble on Saturday, April 26 at 10 am in the Main Meeting Room of the Fountaindale Public Library!

The performance will include traditional elements of Native American music, newer compositions, a flamingo dance performance, storytelling, and interactive audience participation.

Healing Winds Native American Flute Ensemble is based at Wellness House in Hinsdale, which provides information, support, and a community to help families living with cancer.  The group was founded as a healing activity for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers.

Several members of the group have recently released their first album of music

Bolingbrook resident and ensemble member Pat Smith began her own healing musical journey with the group in 2005.

“I was looking for something new to do,” Pat said, “So I tried it out and fell in love with it.  Every member of flute circle is a cancer survivor or caregiver.  On average 15-20 people meet once a week and people of all experience levels participate.”

Pat had been attending Wellness House classes on Meditation, Spirituality and Cancer when she met the founding members of the flute circle.  “I joined right away,” Pat said.  “And it became a weekly event.  My husband Chuck is a participating member now.”

Although she has experience playing other musical instruments, Pat says playing Native American flute is less about a repetitive melody but focuses more on free-form expression.  “With Native American flute you improvise and learn to play the music that comes from inside.  You can find inspiration in nature, cats, horses, pictures, an emotion,  a feeling or experience that triggers music.  It’s a freeing expression of emotion I’ve never had before.  It’s like being liberated musically.”

Late last year, the Healing Winds Native American Flute Ensemble released their first album entitled Spirits on the Wind.  It was recorded in the spring of 2011 with Pat Smith, Arlene Bennett, Margery Keller, and Skip Ruhnke.

After talking about making a CD for a year, the group took an inventory of their work and  recorded their album in the basement of their friend Ed Zajda.  Pat sat in on the editing sessions and helped produce the CD by adding sound effects and putting the track sequence together. 

Pat said the group enjoyed recording their songs for a wider listening audience.  “There is a different dynamic when you’re recording.” Pat said. “We knew what music we were going to put on the CD because all four of us had music pieces which had been evolving.  It’s still from the heart, but they were reflective of experiences.  Each of us has had an experience that has gelled into a particular motief for a song.  We wanted to share these reflections through music.”

Spirits On The Wind is available for download from six digital outlets including iTunes, CD Baby, Verizon MP3, and Amazon.  The digital album is $9.99  and individual tracks are 99 cents.  Physical CDs can be purchased for $12 from CD Baby or from group members during their library performance on Saturday.  A percentage of the proceeds are donation to cancer support programs.

The CD is also available for checkout in the New Age CD area of the Fountaindale Public Library.

Spirits on the Wind – Native American Flute Concert is free and open to the public.

This is an all-ages program, however, as a courtesy to our performers and attendees, parents and caregivers are asked to supervise children at all times. Should children cause a disturbance, parents and caregivers are asked to be courteous to attendees and vacate the performance with their children promptly.

Don’t miss out on this fantastic performance!

ALSO: Don’t miss out on FPLD’s lineup of great Dia de Los Libro programing on Saturday, April 28!  Stick around after the Healing Winds Native American Flute Ensemble performance for great crafts, storytime, and other great activities!

• Multicultural Craft in the Children’s Creativity Park from 11 am to 1 pm

• Spanish-English Bilingual Storytime (Cuentos en espanol e ingles) in the Storytime Room at 1:30 pm

• Multicultural Craft in the Children’s Creativity Park from 2 to 3:30 pm

• Special performance by the McNulty Irish Dancers in Meeting Room A from 3:30 to 4:30 pm

See you at the Library!

Debra

Top Ten Books To Read In A Day

So I am going to post again for the blog The Broke and the Bookish. This week is top ten books to read in a day.

1. The Shack by William P. Young – Great book for book discussions.

2. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho – I have read it at least 10 times.

3. Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher – I could not put this book down.

4. Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill – What can I say? Vampires and Chicago what could be better?

5. As long as I am listing vampire books, Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber – As soon as I read the book, my niece picked it up and started reading it.

6. The Seventh Victim by Alan Jacobson – I read it quickly and then started the next book in the series.

7. How about a classic – Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?

8. Back to the vampires with Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. After all the next season of True Blood is going to start soon.

9. The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde. What can I say – his books make me smile.

and last but not least…

10. Pretty much any Harlequin. In fact, you can probably read several of them in one day. How can you resist? You can be “Promoted to Wife” (by Paula Roe), “Tempt a Sheik” (by Olivia Gates) or even be involved in a “Million-Dollar Amnesia Scandal” (by Rachel Bailey) all in one day!

What do you think? What would be your choices to read in a day?