Book Club @ ECC Library!

When was the last time you read a really good book

and 

had a chance to talk about it with other people who love to read?

Students, faculty and staff are invited to bring a brown bag lunch and take part in a casual, no-stress, lunchtime book club, starting Thursday, November 19 at noon. We’ll kick off our book club with Black Boy, Richard Wright’s celebrated autobiography about growing up in the south during the pre-Civil Rights era. In January, we’ll resume our book club with The Secret Life of Bees, a moving and heartwarming novel by Sue Monk Kidd about a young girl’s search for truth and family. These events are sponsored by The Arts Center and the MAGIC Committee.

 

Book club dates for Black Boy

Thursday, November 19, noon-1, ECC library

Thursday, December 10, noon-1, ECC library

~~~~~~

Book club dates for The Secret Life of Bees

Thursday, January 28, noon-1, ECC library

Thursday, February 4, noon-1, ECC library

 

Easy to join:

Step 1. RSVP

Please contact Stacey Shah (x7693 or sshah@elgin.edu) if you’d like to join us on November 19. We look forward to talking with you!

Step 2. Get your books!

Both titles are available in the ECC library and can also purchased in the bookstore.

Step 3. Start reading!

We recommend that you get started before you come to the first meeting, though you are not required to finish the book before November 19.

Step 4. Join us!

Come to the library’s instruction room (SRC 248) on the dates noted above to “meet and eat.” Enjoy your lunch while you gather with like-minded readers to talk about these transformative works of literature. No matter where you are in the books, you are welcome to come to the discussions. Come to one or both discussions for each book. Each conversation will be unique.

Bonus option!

The ECC Arts Center is presenting performances adapted from both Black Boy (February 5) and The Secret Life of Bees (February 6). The performances by the renowned American Place Theatre bring you professional, one-act, verbatim sections of the books. You’ll also enjoy a unique opportunity to talk with the performers and fellow audience members. Dessert and coffee are included in the ticket price. Contact the arts center box office for details (847-622-0300).

Author’s Reception: Dan Guillory and Tim Seibles

Dan Guillory

Tim Seibles

Please join us for an Author’s Reception featuring poets Dan Guillory and Tim Seibles on Wednesday, October 21st at 2:00pm in ECC Library. This is event is sponsored by The Writers Center and co-sponsored by the Office of Student Life and the Renner Learning Resources Center.

Guillory is the author of  Living With Lincoln: Life and Art in the Heartland (1989), The Lincoln Poems (2008), The Lincoln Poems (2009 – audiobook), and his newest book, People and Places in the Land of Lincoln, is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2009. The Lincoln Poems was selected for presentation at the National Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in Springfield, Illinois in February of this year.

Seibles has authored the books Hurdy-Gurdy, Hammerlock, and Buffalo Head Solos. He is the recipient of a National Endownment of the Arts fellowship and his work has been featured in such anthologies as Manthology, Evensong, Verse and Universe, In Search of Color Everywhere, and The Autumn House Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry.

The Author’s Reception will be followed with a lecture giving by Guillory and Seibles on Thursday, October 22 entitled “Historical Voices in Contemporary Poetry”. The lecture will take place at 11:00am in ATC auditorium. There will also be a reading of their works that evening at 7:30pm in VPA 191D.

These are two wonderful poets and amazing teachers! Don’t miss out!

Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

The Diversity Visa (DV) program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. This program makes 50,000 Green Cards available to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States through an annual lottery.  Randomly selected winners may bring their spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States.  Entries to the DV lottery must be submitted online to the official U.S. Department of State website. This year’s application period will be from will be October 2 until November 30, 2009.

Please spread the word to anyone you know who may benefit from this program. You can learn more about the DV program and lottery from the U.S. Department of State website.

Come to the 7th Annual Latino Read-in Chain 2009!

It’s September again, and time to celebrate Latino Heritage Month. The ECC library is hosting its 7^th Latino Read-In Chain 2009.

Dr. David Sam and Dr. José M Torres, School District U-46 Superintendent, will open the readings of this annual ECC event celebrating Latino Heritage Month and the rich Latino literary tradition.

Please come to the library to hear the reading of works by Latinos authors, poets, playwrights and essayists. Bring your favorite works by Latino writers to read from, choose something to read from our collection, or read something you have written.

There will be sign-in sheet if you plan to read.

Faculty are invited to bring their classes to the Latino Read-In Chain. Please let us know if you are bringing your classes.

Free refreshments, bookmarks and book lists by Latino writers will be available.

Tuesday, Sept. 29

ECC Library, SRC 242

9:00 a.m. to Noon

ECC Library Welcomes Associate Dean Brian Beecher

Brian Beecher, Associate Dean of Library

The ECC Library extends a warm welcome to Brian Beecher, our new Associate Dean. Mr. Beecher joins us from Wisconsin where he formerly served as Library Director at the University of Wisconsin Rock County. He can be contacted at 847-214-7595 or bbeecher@elgin.edu. Welcome, Brian!

A Fine Balance Book Review

A Fine Balance (Fiction)

by Rohinton Mistry

ECC Library Call Number: Fic M6785f

A Fine Balancecenters on the issues of extreme poverty and political corruption plaguing 1970s contemporary India. Mistry chronicles the struggles of Dina, a businesswoman and window; Maneck, a student; and Ishvar and his nephew Om, two skilled tailors. These four unlikely characters meet and their paths become intertwined as each searches for his or her own means of independence in a world in which all odds are against them. This heart-wrenching story is a fierce condemnation of a cruel society under the leadership of Prime Minister Indra Ghandi. Despite the political context, what really draws one into the story is the passion Mistry invests in his characters who demonstrate incredible strength in an environment characterized chiefly by death and despair.

Reviewed by Stacey Shah

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Book Review

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Fiction)

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

 Set in post -World War II, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society recounts life under German occupation on the British island of Guernsey.  The story begins when Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a man she has never met.  Dawsey Adams recently came into possession of a book written by Charles Lamb, and on the inside cover was Juliet’s name and address.  Dawsey writes to Juliet to ask whether she knows where he can find more books written by Charles Lamb. He writes that he first found the writings of Mr. Lamb when he became a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Miss Ashton promptly replies to his inquiry, and cannot help but respond with a question of her own “what is a potato peel pie—and why is the name included in your society’s name?”

 Thus begins the correspondence that shapes the narrative of the book.  In order to tell the story of how the literary society came to be, Dawsey enlists the help of the entire island community.  The letters portray a close knit community that worked together to protect each other and survive the German occupation. The letters reflect the severe suffering that took place during the war, from the horrors of forced labor, to starvation, to death. The letters also illustrate the ethical dilemmas the islanders faced, from self interest versus community interest to the complicated emotional relationships that develop between the occupier and the occupied.  However, these difficult discussions of war are balanced with lighthearted stories of life on the island and the various foibles and romantic entanglements of the islanders.  

The story is told entirely through letters and telegrams, which adds to the charm of the story but leads to the underdevelopment of a few characters.  The story starts slowly and gets bogged down by a few subplots, but begins to pick up mid-way through the book.  Overall, a quick read and a touching story.

 

Reviewed by Eve Gaus

Late Night Study Session

The Student Resources Building (including the Library!) will stay open Monday, May 18th until Midnight. And if late night studying gives you late night cravings, enjoy a FREE pancake breakfast served by the Student Services Staff at 10:00pm. Don’t miss out!

Special thanks to Librarians Armando Trejo and Himanshu Trivedi and Senior Library Assistant Todd Alberger for staying up late to make this event possible!

Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros a Success!!!

Gayle Chiarugi and Armand Trejo brought smiles to the faces of 2 through 5 year olds during ECC Library’s 6th Annual Children’s/Day of books celebration. They read books, sang songs, danced, laughed, and instilled a love of reading and learning in the children who attended.

Thank you to all who participated and made it a wonderful event!!!

 

 

Gayle and Armando read a story to the kids.

 

Armando passes out bean bags.

Día de los Niños/Día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day)

by apdk, Flckr CC

Do you know what has been officially celebrated on April 30th since 1999?

As you know, our calendar is full of celebrations and holidays. We commemorate Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Secretary’s Day, Bosses’ Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Cinco de Mayo, African American Read-In Chain, and Latino Read-In Chain. We celebrate almost everybody and everything. However, before 1999, we were officially ignoring our children in our celebrations.

It all started in 1997, when teachers and librarians began to celebrate April 30 as Children’s Day/Book Day - Día de los Niños/Día de los libros. Since then, libraries, museums, schools and book stores organize activities to celebrate the work they do throughout the year: opening the world of books to all children.

Since 2004, Elgin Community College Library and Gail Borden Library started celebrating Children’s Day/Book Day.

April 30th can become a day for remembering the power of words and books in the lives of our young people and for honoring all the languages spoken in the homes of the country.

Stop at the ECC Library on April 30th 2009 at 10:00am and 10:45am for two Children’s Programs to celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day – Día de los Niños/Día de los libros and watch Armando Trejo, Elgin Community College Library, and Gayle Chiarugi, from Gail Borden Public Library, read, sing, and tell stories from children’s books.

Give your children the best possible gifts for Children’s Day/Book Day – Día de los Niños/Día de los libros: read them a book and give them a book!