Have you forgotten what it’s like to cross the threshold into another world while reading a book? Our beloved, soon to retire history teacher and avid reader, Karen Talus, reminds us.
(video by Chloe L., our senior project intern)
Russian Intrigue!
Whether you’d prefer a tragic love story set in snowy St. Petersburg or a rapidly-paced Cold War spy novel, click here for a list of recommendations.
Check out books for the whole summer, and return them in early September! All returning Upper School students, and schoolwide faculty and staff may participate in Summer Borrowing.
Keep checking back for more recommendations over the coming two weeks.
In the several days before Winterim and Spring Break begin, stop by for some good reading. This month we’re particularly featuring books on outdoor activities in Oregon. Break is a perfect time to go hiking…unless we have another snowstorm!
The English Department, creative writing classes, and Pegasus, our literary magazine, are co-sponsoring seven local poets for a February 2nd & 3rd visit to Catlin Gabel. They will read some of their work, and will meet with our students to discuss poetry and creative work. One of the seven, Carl Adamschick, is on our faculty, and teaches creative writing.
A member of our US English department, Ginia King, writes, “two of these poets, Emily Frey and our own visiting writer Carl Adamshick, are finalists for the Oregon book award this year!” We have copies of Carl’s work, entitled Curses and Wishes: Poems in the library. Here’s a short video clip of Paulann Peterson reading one of Carl’s poems, “Work Dream.”
For more information on Oregon Poets, including embedded audio clips of the poets reading some of their own work, visit Oregon Poetic Voices, or stop by and read a few poems and biographies in the library foyer, and browse our book display. Special thanks to Ginia King for the links to the poets’ biographies, and Margy for her work on the bulletin board.
Those of you interested in questions of modern day censorship may want to read the latest episode in the two decades of controversy whirling around author Salman Rushdie. The New York Times featured several recent articles on Rushdie’s decision to cancel his participation in the Jaipur literary festival in India.
According to the Times, “In a statement, Mr. Rushdie, the Mumbai native whose 1988 novel, “The Satanic Verses,” inflamed many Muslims, said he decided not to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival, where he has spoken before, after Indian intelligence agencies warned him that “paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to ‘eliminate’ me.” He later said on Twitter that he would appear at the event via a video link.” (NY Times article from 1/20/12)
For more information about Rushdie and the controversy that followed the publication of the Satanic Verses, listen to this audio clip at the Guardian, a London newspaper.
Why does this matter? High and low profile cases of censorship are current, relevant, and important for us to consider. In our curriculum at Catlin Gabel, we give students the opportunity to read books that have been challenged or banned at various points in history. Many of the authors at the festival in Jaipur are asking questions about the use of violence, threats, and political pressure to silence an author who has written a book considered controversial to some based on their religious beliefs. What do you think of the controversy? Should authors be able to write and say whatever they want? Should the Jaipur festival organizers intervene, and what should they do regarding their controversial invitee? Thanks for reading.
Have you seen the snowfall in the US Library? There’s a sparkling drift with twinkly lights to showcase a flurry of new titles for you to borrow over break! Let’s take a look.
There are a number of you who’ve been waiting for the last book in this series. Come by quickly, before it checks out!
The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides
Here comes the latest novel from the author of Middlesex and the Virgin Suicides. Set in the 1980s, it concerns a love triangle among three students toward the end of college, and the decisions they make regarding love, careers, and commitment to ideas. Read the review at National Public Radio.
The Litigators, by John Grisham
“The Litigators is a tremendously entertaining romp filled with the ind of courtroom strategies, theatrics, and suspense that have made John Grisham America’s favorite storyteller” (from the book jacket). Should this be required reading for the members of Mock Trial? Read the Washington Post’s review here.
From escapist fluff to meaty, intellectual reading, we have something for you.
Scientific Minds Physics of the Future, by Michio Kaku
Surfing the web through internet contact lenses? Cars that drive themselves and don’t get into accidents? Kaku interviews bleeding edge scientists to find out what’s already in development. Check out the recent NPR interview with Kaku, who is a techno true believer.
You might also like: Quantum Physics for Poets, by Lederman and Hill
Lederman’s a Nobel laureate and used to direct the Fermi National Accelerator Lab. Check out this highly readable book, and return from break ready to hold your own with Bob Sauer!
Stop by! We’ll be open for borrowing until 4pm on Friday, December 16th, 2011, when we’ll close for Winter Break.
Did you know that teenagers’ IQs may rise or fall during the teen years? It is not a fixed number, according to researchers who published an article in Science recently. National Public Radio has an audio broadcast and a good online article that describes the findings, which indicate that improvement is possible, and describes some of the factors involved.
Ravens use their beaks to gesture to one another, or toward an object. Gesturing to draw attention has been previously observed, according to this source, only in humans and the apes. So much for the concept of a “bird brain.” Science Daily has the story here.
If you enjoy keeping up with new scientific discoveries and developments, but don’t have lots of time, check out these links:
If you’re working on research for a science class at Catlin, consult our Databases page. We subscribe to hundreds of scientific journals full-text online. I’m here to help you.
We’ve got Wildwood, by Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, with illustrations by Carson Ellis. It’s a delicious fable about two young teens from North Portland, and what happens to them when Prue’s baby brother is stolen by crows and taken into the mysterious hinterlands of the Impassable Wilderness (know to you and me as Forest Park). Enter a world where birds speak, coyotes wear military uniforms, and the various principalities are about to go to war. Take a look:
The techies among you may want to read the new Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, or the freshly published Worm: The First Digital World War, by Mark Bowden.
How about some of the shortlisted books for the Man Booker Prize? This year’s winner is The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. If you’re a Michael Ondaatje fan, take note: his new novel is out, entitled The Cat’s Table, about a boy’s sea voyage on a ship from Sri Lanka to London in the 1950s. It’s getting rave reviews all around, and looks like the kind of engrossing tale that will take you far, far away from daily cares.
We’ll be open through Wednesday, Nov. 16th at 5pm, and will close to students during the conferences and the Thanksgiving break. Stop in for something good to read!
