The big screen: the story of the movies by David Thomson

Breakaway: from behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL: the untold story of hockey's great escapes by Tal Pinchevsky

The entertainer: movies, magic, and my father's twentieth century by Margaret Talbot

The hour of peril: the secret plot to

Sunday, February 24 is the 85th Oscar Awards.  Brush up on your film history with...

Local authors Matt Lee and Jenny Risher present their lovely new book Heart Soul Detroit which contains insightful interviews and artistic photographs of famous Detroiters from James Hoffa to Jack White to Nick Lidstrom and 47 others. The authors will discuss how they compiled their list, did the interviews and took their project to completion. Books will be available for sale and will be signed by the authors. This promises to be a delightful evening of remembering and speculating on Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 PM.

Detroit: an American autopsy by Charlie LeDuff.  Mr. LeDuff, a FOX2 television journalist, will discuss his book at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor on Thursday, February 14 at 7:00PM.

Citizen soldier: a life of Harry S. Truman by Aida D. Donald

Detroit City is the place to be: the afterlife of an American metropolis by Mark Binelli

Do the movies have a future? by David Denby

The eve of destruction: how 1965 transformed America by James T. Patterson

The reality of our planet is we are an aging society. Soon over half the global population will be over the age of 50. This is unprecedented in human history. What will this mean to society? A new PBS documentary is in the works, Coming of Age in America. It will look at where we live, how we work, and what impact will this have on the world. Watch your local PBS station for broadcast times.

It's back to school for millions of students this month. What's happening in our classrooms?

Creating innovators: the making of young people who will change the world by Tony Wagner

Lunch wars: how to start a school food revolution and win the battle for our children's health by Amy Kalafa

Boys and girls learn differently!: a guide for teachers and parents by Michael Gurian

Sacrilege: a thriller by S.J. Parris — On Monday, August 27 at 7:00 PM at Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor. Dr. Darcy Lockman will talk about her challenging, yet fulfilling, journey to become a psychotherapist. She received her Ph.D at Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University. She is currently a practicing psychotherapist in New York where she lives with her family.

Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955. Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year, China is becoming a world power, and Andy Farrell creates his list of the greatest ever golfers.

The 100 greatest ever golfers by Andy Farrell

Walt Disney: a biography by Louise Krasniewicz

Monarchy. The complete series. Disc 1 [videodisc] by a production of Thirteen/WNET New York in association with Channel Four Television and Granada Video

Indomitable will: LBJ in the presidency by Mark K. Updegrove

Guest of honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House dinner that shocked a nation by Deborah Davis

Masters of the air: America's bomber boys who fought the air war against Nazi Germany by Donald L.

A devil is waiting [large print] by Jack Higgins

Hidden summit [large print] by Robyn Carr

Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden cookbook: [large print] Hannah Swensen's recipes from the cookie jar by Joanne Fluke

The sisters [large print] by Nancy Jensen

To wrap up this year’s Great Michigan Read, the Michigan Humanities Council will host a grand finale event on Monday, June 25 in Traverse City. This finale will be held at the Dennos Museum Center and feature Arc of Justice author Kevin Boyle. This will be an amazing event, providing an opportunity to reflect on the conversations and discussions generated by the Great Michigan Read throughout Michigan.

Tickets are available for $35 and $100. More information is available at the Michigan Humanities Council. For immediate event updates, keep an eye out on the Council's Facebook page.

For the past few years, the Canton Public Library has held a donation drive to commemorate Memorial Day by helping service men and women. Once again we will be collecting donations, this year for the VA Hospital of Ann Arbor , but there are many other rewarding ways to observe Memorial Day, including:

• Visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes
• Visiting war memorials
• Flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon
• Participating in a National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 PM to pause and reflect upon the true meaning of the day
• Attending a parade
• Watching a patriotic movie or reading a patriotic book

Check out websites like [White House] Joining Forces, where you can actually send a message of thanks to a military family and get other ideas for showing appreciation. Also, be sure to visit the library's displays on Memorial Day and the history behind some of our military traditions.

Before we celebrate Memorial Day, let's commemorate. Please help CPL as we collect items to be donated to the VA Hospital of Ann Arbor for distribution to homeless veterans. Donations will be appreciatively accepted beginning Thursday, May 10 through Thursday, May 31 at the Reception Desk.
Suggested donations include:

• Rolls of Lifesavers (or other hard candy)
• Rice Krispies bars (or granola bars, etc.)
• Plastic utensils (knives, forks, spoons)
• Napkins
• Ritz snack mix (or other trail mix)
• Easy-open cans of tuna, chicken or other meats

Other general requests include $5-10 gift cards to Wendy's or McDonald's; cans of coffee (regular or decaf); prepaid telephone calling cards; new crossword puzzles and word search books.

The daily you: how the new advertising industry is defining your identity and your worth by Joseph Turow

Deadly valentines: the story of Capone's henchman "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn and Louise Rolfe, his blonde alibi by Jeffrey Gusfield

God's jury: the Inquisition and the making of the modern world by Cullen Murphy

The Great Michigan Read 2011-2012 is drawing to a close. This year's selection has inspired displays and discussions across the states in public libraries and schools. The author, Kevin Boyle, received his undergraduate degree from University of Detroit-Mercy and his doctorate from University of Michigan. He is presently teaching at Ohio State University. Arc of Justice won the National Book Award in 2004 and was named Michigan Notable Book in 2005.

Arc of justice: a saga of race, civil rights, and murder in the Jazz Age by Kevin Boyle — is the 2012 Great Michigan Read, but sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words:

DVDs

Eyes on the prize. Vol. 1, [videodisc]: America's civil rights movement by Blackside

An Evening with Nicholas Delbanco at Nicola's Book Store (Ann Arbor) on Wednesday, February 15th at 7:00 PM. Enjoy an evening with Nicholas Delbanco for a discussion regarding his latest non-fiction book:

Lastingness: the art of old age by Nicholas Delbanco — one of America's most celebrated men of letters profiles great geniuses in the fields of visual art, literature, and music-Monet, Verdi, O'Keeffe, Yeats, among others — searching for the answers to why some artists' work diminishes with age, while others' reaches its peak.

Khan Academy is a free, fun, educational and totally awesome organization. The goal of Khan Academy is to change "education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere." The site contains over 2,700 videos on math, physics, biology, chemistry, finance and art. Students, parents, coaches, and teachers can use Khan Academy in many ways. Teachers and homeschool parents can use this resource to coordinate classwork and monitor student work. Kids looking for homework help can find explanations and practice examples on the virtual scratch pad. Adults looking for continuing education opportunities will find help here as well.