Information, Answers & Reviews

If you listen to politicians and talking heads speak, you’ll instantly recognize that “freedom” is a particularly powerful buzz word in American culture. Franzen achieved notoriety for a famous run-in with Oprah about his book The Corrections being included in her book club. He complained that this might scare men away from reading his book, so Oprah withdrew the nomination. In another bizarre twist, last fall a fan stole the author’s eyeglasses and offered them for ransom. In this mega-novel of 562 pages, Franzen tackles the theme of what constitutes freedom in our closest relationships. He writes about a family, the Berglunds, who helped transform an old St. Paul neighborhood into a thriving community.
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When it comes to focusing on body image and self esteem the media often discusses how this impacts women in negative ways. There’s not a whole lot out there that focuses on men and their self image. Bigger, stronger, faster is a documentary that tries to do exactly that. By talking to various body builders, weight lifters and athletes we find that there exists this childhood yearning in some grown men to become the superheroes that they read about and admired when they were children. But what if those superheroes became number one by injecting themselves with anabolic steroids? If you found out that your favorite athlete was taking anabolic steroids would that change your opinion of him or her? Would you think of them as cheaters? These are some of the questions that this documentary tries to answer along with why people feel the need to alter their bodies to feel good about themselves. Check out the trailer below and if you like it, our library has two copies on dvd.

It's summer and that means Summer Reading at public libraries around the country - MCPL included! Teens in Monroe County have the opportunity to participate in The World in Your Hands, this summer's Reading Program from June 1 - August 17.
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Don't miss your chance to see local mystery and suspense author, Michael Koryta at Barnes and Noble next week to promote his newest book - The Ridge. He will be there on Monday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m. Full event details available on the Barnes and Noble website, and also from Michael's personal blog too.
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