(I can personally vouch for the Shhhhardonay and the Cabernet!)
Another huge Thank You to Ginny for her fabulous artistic talents - the new computer is a total success!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Perfect Gifts for the Holidays
Just in time for the Holidays, Andy's Liquors has teamed up with the Rochester Public Library to provide a perfect idea for gifts! A great book and a bottle of wine! We have the books in the Bookstore and at the Friends Book and Bake Sale (Sunday December 5th), all you have to do is go to Andy's Crossroads for the wine!
(I can personally vouch for the Shhhhardonay and the Cabernet!)
Another huge Thank You to Ginny for her fabulous artistic talents - the new computer is a total success!
(I can personally vouch for the Shhhhardonay and the Cabernet!)
Another huge Thank You to Ginny for her fabulous artistic talents - the new computer is a total success!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
November display for Unusual and Special books
Just in time for the upcoming magical season, the Unusual & Special Books team has conjured up a wonder-full assortment of classic fairy tales, verses and rhymes, fables, and bedtime stories to share with the children (young and old) in your life. Titles include: The Snow Queen illustrated by Edmund Dulac, First Book of Fairly Tales (a board book), Kipling’s Jungle Books, Uncle Wiggily’s Picture Book, a Beauty and the Beast pop-up book, Fireside Tales (Scottish) of the Traveller Children, the Classic Volland edition of Great Children’s Stories, and many more.
The books, priced from $5 to $25, are displayed in the glass case next to the elevator on the Library’s main floor; the Friend’s bookstore staff can help you purchase your selections.
The books, priced from $5 to $25, are displayed in the glass case next to the elevator on the Library’s main floor; the Friend’s bookstore staff can help you purchase your selections.
Friday, November 19, 2010
A Celtic Evening update - SOLD OUT!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A Celtic Evening Silent Auction Item
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Celtic Evening Silent Auction Items
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Shopping at Amazon.com can help support the library!
Republished from the Rochester Public Library's blog.
The holiday season is coming up faster than any of us would like to admit. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t like the overwhelming crowds when I shop for my family and friends. Online shopping, I found, is a great way to avoid the claustrophobic, I’m-gonna-scream-if-one-more-person-bumps-into-me feeling.
If you’ve ever used Amazon, you know that, just like a library, they offer more than just books. Much more! They have everything from diapers to snow blowers, music, movies, toys, games, electronics, tools, clothes, snacks, pet food, and even flame throwers! I’m serious! They have home decor, musical instruments, lawn mowers, shoes, magazine subscriptions, seat covers for your cars, I could go on and on for a good long time.
The best part of shopping at Amazon is that I help support the library at the same time. The Friends of the Library have a portal to Amazon that you can use to turn your purchase into a donation. How awesome is that? All you have to do is use the portal when you shop and anything you buy, and I mean anything, a percent of the purchase price goes back to the Friends with no extra charge for you!
Happy Holidays and happy shopping
Remember, you can always click onto the library's blog from this site in the right-hand column near the bottom.
The holiday season is coming up faster than any of us would like to admit. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t like the overwhelming crowds when I shop for my family and friends. Online shopping, I found, is a great way to avoid the claustrophobic, I’m-gonna-scream-if-one-more-person-bumps-into-me feeling.
If you’ve ever used Amazon, you know that, just like a library, they offer more than just books. Much more! They have everything from diapers to snow blowers, music, movies, toys, games, electronics, tools, clothes, snacks, pet food, and even flame throwers! I’m serious! They have home decor, musical instruments, lawn mowers, shoes, magazine subscriptions, seat covers for your cars, I could go on and on for a good long time.
The best part of shopping at Amazon is that I help support the library at the same time. The Friends of the Library have a portal to Amazon that you can use to turn your purchase into a donation. How awesome is that? All you have to do is use the portal when you shop and anything you buy, and I mean anything, a percent of the purchase price goes back to the Friends with no extra charge for you!
Happy Holidays and happy shopping
Remember, you can always click onto the library's blog from this site in the right-hand column near the bottom.
A Celtic Evening Silent Auction Items
Haste ye here!
Monday, November 15, 2010
A Celtic Evening Bucket Raffle Items
Sunday, November 14, 2010
A Celtic Evening Silent Auction Items
Cead Mile Fealte (A thousand welcomes - in Gaelic)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
RL Stevenson, Celtic Evening Spirit
Robert Louis Stevenson 1850-1894
The best loved literary figure of his time as much for his personality as for his authorship of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson was born today in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850. He described his childhood in detail in his autobiographical essays and vividly recalled its emotions and pleasures in A Child's Garden of Verses (1885). Kidnapped was chosen by the Edinburgh City of Literature as their first "One City, One Book" title.
He had an ambition at an early age to become a writer; he compromised to study Law (instead of engineering at University of Edinburgh). He was admitted advocate in 1875 but never practiced. During these years he rebelled against the conventions of respectable Edinburgh society and there were bitter quarrels with his father (a devout Presbyterian) about religion.
In 1873 he met the critic Prof. Sidney Colvin who became his lifelong friend and literary mentor. With Colvin's help he began to achieve a reputation with his essays and short stories (collected in Virginibus Puerisque, 1881 and New Arabian Nights, 1882). Another close friendship was formed with poet and critic WE Henley, writing 4 unsuccessful plays (including Deacon Brodie, 1880).
The closest friend of his youth was his painter cousin RAM (Bob) Stevenson, and he spent much time with him in France. His early travels were undertaken so that he could write books about them. A Wand Voyage (1878) described a canoe journey, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes (1878; a classic account of the city whose climate he hated but which always haunted his imagination).
In the art colony of Grez (1876) he fell in love with Fanny Vandegrift Osboume, an American 10 years older than himself who was estranged from her husband. She returned to California in 1878 for divorce. In 1879 Stevenson followed, travelling cheaply by immigrant ship, then by train across America, recording his experiences in Amateur Emigrant (1895) and Across the Plans (1892). The hardships of the journey and the poverty wrecked his health and he suffered the first of the haemorrhages which plagued the rest of his life.
Stevenson and Fanny were married in May 1880, following a telegram from his father assuring them of financial support. They returned to Edinburgh. Stevenson's illness, diagnosed as tuberculosis, meant that he spent much time in bed, his life undoubtedly prolonged by Fanny's nursing. The next 7 years were spent in the vain search for health: two summer in Scotland, 2 winters in Davos, Switzerland, 18 months in the South of France, then Bournemouth for 3 years One rainy summer afternoon, Stevenson painted a map of an imaginary island to entertain his new stepson, and in a single month, he wrote his first great novel, Treasure Island (1883). He wrote it in Braemar (1882), one of the best children's stories. It's been in print for over 125 years.
He's also the author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1885), about a scientist who invents a chemical that changes his personality from a mild-mannered gentleman to a savage criminal. Wider recognition came with this allegorical thriller on the dual nature of man, and then Kidnapped (1886) a skilful evocation of 18th century Scotland. He then produced The Black Arrow (1888), an historical potboiler for children. Stevenson made no claim to be a major poet, but Underwoods (1897) showed him to be graceful and original in both English and Scots. He developed a warm and lasting friendship with Henry James.
At the death of his father, the family traveled to America, spending the winter 1887/8 at Saranac Lake, Adirondacks. He wrote a series of essays and began his tragic novel The Master of Ballantrae (1889) set in 18P century Scotland and America. In June 1888 they chartered a yacht and sailed from San Francisco to the South Seas, describing the journeys in South Seas (1896), and The Wrecker (1892). The climate suited, he regained some health for outdoor activity so they settled in Samoa in 1890. However, Fanny had mental health issues and he overworked himself to earn money needed to maintain the estate.
Catriona (1894), the sequel to Kidnapped, was followed by work on the unfinished St Ives (1897) both set largely in Edinburgh during the Napoleonic wars. He was working at the height of his mature powers on his unfinished masterpiece Weir of Hermiston (1896), set in early 19th century Edinburgh and the Lammermuirs, its main character based on Robert MacQueen, Lord Braxfield, when he died suddenly and unexpectedly of cerebral haemorrhage on 3 December 1894.
The romantic legend created by sentimental admirers has helped obscure the recognition of Stevenson as a serious writer, and academic critics have largely ignored or patronized him. Those readers exploring beyond the popular works that made him famous will find a wealth of 'good things'.
The Works: Tusitala Edition, 3 5 vols. 1923 –4; Collected Poems, ed JA Smith, 1971.
Life. G Balfour, 1901; Voyage to Windward JC Furnas, 1952; RLS A Life Study, J. Calder, 1980.
Check out BooksfromScotland.com for additional information and titles.
The best loved literary figure of his time as much for his personality as for his authorship of Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Stevenson was born today in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850. He described his childhood in detail in his autobiographical essays and vividly recalled its emotions and pleasures in A Child's Garden of Verses (1885). Kidnapped was chosen by the Edinburgh City of Literature as their first "One City, One Book" title.
He had an ambition at an early age to become a writer; he compromised to study Law (instead of engineering at University of Edinburgh). He was admitted advocate in 1875 but never practiced. During these years he rebelled against the conventions of respectable Edinburgh society and there were bitter quarrels with his father (a devout Presbyterian) about religion.
In 1873 he met the critic Prof. Sidney Colvin who became his lifelong friend and literary mentor. With Colvin's help he began to achieve a reputation with his essays and short stories (collected in Virginibus Puerisque, 1881 and New Arabian Nights, 1882). Another close friendship was formed with poet and critic WE Henley, writing 4 unsuccessful plays (including Deacon Brodie, 1880).
The closest friend of his youth was his painter cousin RAM (Bob) Stevenson, and he spent much time with him in France. His early travels were undertaken so that he could write books about them. A Wand Voyage (1878) described a canoe journey, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes (1878; a classic account of the city whose climate he hated but which always haunted his imagination).
In the art colony of Grez (1876) he fell in love with Fanny Vandegrift Osboume, an American 10 years older than himself who was estranged from her husband. She returned to California in 1878 for divorce. In 1879 Stevenson followed, travelling cheaply by immigrant ship, then by train across America, recording his experiences in Amateur Emigrant (1895) and Across the Plans (1892). The hardships of the journey and the poverty wrecked his health and he suffered the first of the haemorrhages which plagued the rest of his life.
Stevenson and Fanny were married in May 1880, following a telegram from his father assuring them of financial support. They returned to Edinburgh. Stevenson's illness, diagnosed as tuberculosis, meant that he spent much time in bed, his life undoubtedly prolonged by Fanny's nursing. The next 7 years were spent in the vain search for health: two summer in Scotland, 2 winters in Davos, Switzerland, 18 months in the South of France, then Bournemouth for 3 years One rainy summer afternoon, Stevenson painted a map of an imaginary island to entertain his new stepson, and in a single month, he wrote his first great novel, Treasure Island (1883). He wrote it in Braemar (1882), one of the best children's stories. It's been in print for over 125 years.
He's also the author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1885), about a scientist who invents a chemical that changes his personality from a mild-mannered gentleman to a savage criminal. Wider recognition came with this allegorical thriller on the dual nature of man, and then Kidnapped (1886) a skilful evocation of 18th century Scotland. He then produced The Black Arrow (1888), an historical potboiler for children. Stevenson made no claim to be a major poet, but Underwoods (1897) showed him to be graceful and original in both English and Scots. He developed a warm and lasting friendship with Henry James.
At the death of his father, the family traveled to America, spending the winter 1887/8 at Saranac Lake, Adirondacks. He wrote a series of essays and began his tragic novel The Master of Ballantrae (1889) set in 18P century Scotland and America. In June 1888 they chartered a yacht and sailed from San Francisco to the South Seas, describing the journeys in South Seas (1896), and The Wrecker (1892). The climate suited, he regained some health for outdoor activity so they settled in Samoa in 1890. However, Fanny had mental health issues and he overworked himself to earn money needed to maintain the estate.
Catriona (1894), the sequel to Kidnapped, was followed by work on the unfinished St Ives (1897) both set largely in Edinburgh during the Napoleonic wars. He was working at the height of his mature powers on his unfinished masterpiece Weir of Hermiston (1896), set in early 19th century Edinburgh and the Lammermuirs, its main character based on Robert MacQueen, Lord Braxfield, when he died suddenly and unexpectedly of cerebral haemorrhage on 3 December 1894.
The romantic legend created by sentimental admirers has helped obscure the recognition of Stevenson as a serious writer, and academic critics have largely ignored or patronized him. Those readers exploring beyond the popular works that made him famous will find a wealth of 'good things'.
The Works: Tusitala Edition, 3 5 vols. 1923 –4; Collected Poems, ed JA Smith, 1971.
Life. G Balfour, 1901; Voyage to Windward JC Furnas, 1952; RLS A Life Study, J. Calder, 1980.
Check out BooksfromScotland.com for additional information and titles.
Friday, November 12, 2010
In Cod We Trust - Eric Dregni
From the library catalog: Norwegian-Americans, Minnesotans, and other fans will enjoy this wry, and often very funny volume by Dregni (creative writing, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minn.). A Minnesotan of Norwegian extraction, he's written a memoir of the year he and his wife and infant son spent in Trondheim, Norway, where he was on a Fulbright scholarship to learn about his roots and acquaint himself with Norwegian culture. As he writes it, this culture consists in large part of very long dark winters, uniquely Norwegian humor and toughness, ice and cold, skiing, and various kinds of preserved fish washed down, if possible, with aquavit. Includes a list of Norwegian phrases.
A Celtic Evening Silent Auction Items
We will be highlighting new items over the next week!
You still have a week to sign up! No ticket sales at the door but bring your wallet/checkbook for silent auction and/or bucket raffle items! We have a great line-up of gifts. You won't want to miss these deals!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Teen Reads, Kathy Reichs
Mystery writer Kathy Reichs, with her bestselling blend of science and suspense, has created a new series for teens (grades 6-9) called Virals. This is her first venture into young adult literature, and has several elements of her mystery novels, plus additional 'current' paranormal ideas. Not quite vampires thank goodness. The niece of the forensic anthropologist, Temperance Brennan (see Bones), Tory displays similar genetic tendencies: science, sleuthing and loyalty when she and her new friends (Ben, Hi, and Shelton) uncover a secret research lab on a remote barrier island in South Carolina. Exposure to a mutant strain of canine parvovirus causes these teenagers to have heightened senses of smell, sight, hearing, which conveniently flare when they are in danger.
*Refreshing snappy pace with realistic, interesting, modern teenagers in an old-fashioned somewhat formulaic, adventure story.
*Villains are a little too simplistic, rather cold-blooded killers, while being no match for teenagers. aka Harry Potter.
*Contains similar forensic details that Reichs is known for in the Brennan novels, geared towards teens. I am not sure I would want young adults to read the rather gruesome details of the Bones series, as there is enough over exposure these days.
*Look forward to the next installment, summer 2011.
*Refreshing snappy pace with realistic, interesting, modern teenagers in an old-fashioned somewhat formulaic, adventure story.
*Villains are a little too simplistic, rather cold-blooded killers, while being no match for teenagers. aka Harry Potter.
*Contains similar forensic details that Reichs is known for in the Brennan novels, geared towards teens. I am not sure I would want young adults to read the rather gruesome details of the Bones series, as there is enough over exposure these days.
*Look forward to the next installment, summer 2011.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Cetlic Evening Spirit: Irish writer Hugh Leonard
From the Writers' Almanac - verbatim:
November 10 is the birthday of Irish writer Hugh Leonard, (books by this author) born John Joseph Byrne in Dublin (1926). He's the author of dozens of plays and screenplays; two novels, Parnell and the Englishwoman (1992) and The Offshore Island (1993); and two memoirs, Home Before Night (1979) and Out After Dark (1989). For 16 years, he wrote a humor column called "The Curmudgeon," which appeared in Ireland's biggest Sunday newspaper, Sunday Independent.
He grew up in a seaside Irish resort town and got a job as a clerical assistant for the Irish Land Commission. As it happened, this Irish federal government agency had an amateur drama club, so he ended up spending a lot of his time acting and playwriting. He pitched his first play, Italian Road,to the Abbey Theatre under his real name and they rejected it. The play featured a psychopathic character named Hughie Leonard. When he pitched a second play to the Abbey, he gave himself the pen name "Hugh Leonard," kind of as an inside joke. The Abbey accepted that second play and out of superstition he kept the pen name, even though he hated the sound of it. His friends called him Jack.
He wrote for Ireland's first radio soap opera, a show called The Kennedys of Castleross,and he got a job editing scripts for a Manchester television station. At night, he worked on his own projects. He wrote a stage
adaptation of one of James Joyce's books, A Portrait of the Artist, which was called Stephen D. It was a huge hit in England, Ireland, and New York. So he started adapting other big literary works for stage and television, and made plays of books by Dostoyevsky, Brontë, and Flaubert. He made television screenplays out of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.
But finally he wanted to shake his reputation as an adapter and to write plays based on his own experiences. He wrote an autobiographical play called Da, and it was a smashing success, running to sold-out audiences in the late 1970s in Dublin, Chicago, London, Off-Broadway and on Broadway. Critics compared him Sean O'Casey, and Da wonfour Tony Awards, including for best play. It was made into a movie starring Martin Sheen.
Hugh Leonard never got out of bed before 11:15 a.m., and he wrote four hours every afternoon and another four hours in the early morning. He said, "I live to write and write to live." He died just last year, in 2009, at the age of 82.
And he said, "There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way."
He wrote a lot about Dalkey, the seaside town in Ireland where he grew up. He said: "The conversation in pubs, say the advertisements put out by the Tourist Board, is sparkling with epigrams. This is fiction: What you get is one monologuist waiting for another monologuist to pause for breath."
November 10 is the birthday of Irish writer Hugh Leonard, (books by this author) born John Joseph Byrne in Dublin (1926). He's the author of dozens of plays and screenplays; two novels, Parnell and the Englishwoman (1992) and The Offshore Island (1993); and two memoirs, Home Before Night (1979) and Out After Dark (1989). For 16 years, he wrote a humor column called "The Curmudgeon," which appeared in Ireland's biggest Sunday newspaper, Sunday Independent.
He grew up in a seaside Irish resort town and got a job as a clerical assistant for the Irish Land Commission. As it happened, this Irish federal government agency had an amateur drama club, so he ended up spending a lot of his time acting and playwriting. He pitched his first play, Italian Road,to the Abbey Theatre under his real name and they rejected it. The play featured a psychopathic character named Hughie Leonard. When he pitched a second play to the Abbey, he gave himself the pen name "Hugh Leonard," kind of as an inside joke. The Abbey accepted that second play and out of superstition he kept the pen name, even though he hated the sound of it. His friends called him Jack.
He wrote for Ireland's first radio soap opera, a show called The Kennedys of Castleross,and he got a job editing scripts for a Manchester television station. At night, he worked on his own projects. He wrote a stage
adaptation of one of James Joyce's books, A Portrait of the Artist, which was called Stephen D. It was a huge hit in England, Ireland, and New York. So he started adapting other big literary works for stage and television, and made plays of books by Dostoyevsky, Brontë, and Flaubert. He made television screenplays out of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.
But finally he wanted to shake his reputation as an adapter and to write plays based on his own experiences. He wrote an autobiographical play called Da, and it was a smashing success, running to sold-out audiences in the late 1970s in Dublin, Chicago, London, Off-Broadway and on Broadway. Critics compared him Sean O'Casey, and Da wonfour Tony Awards, including for best play. It was made into a movie starring Martin Sheen.
Hugh Leonard never got out of bed before 11:15 a.m., and he wrote four hours every afternoon and another four hours in the early morning. He said, "I live to write and write to live." He died just last year, in 2009, at the age of 82.
And he said, "There is only one immutable law in life - in a gentleman's toilet, incoming traffic has the right of way."
He wrote a lot about Dalkey, the seaside town in Ireland where he grew up. He said: "The conversation in pubs, say the advertisements put out by the Tourist Board, is sparkling with epigrams. This is fiction: What you get is one monologuist waiting for another monologuist to pause for breath."
The Charming Quirks of Others, Alexander McCall Smith
The Charming Quirks of Others. Alexander McCall Smith (2010)Once again, in this seventh Scottish novel by the AMS, we are invited into the small, ordinary, thoughtful lives of Isabel Dalhousie’s circle of family and friends. Her private investigation, however, explores issues that are actually of enormous importance : love, friendship, self awareness, ambition, forgiveness and morality. It is a delightful book that ponders everyday life, with our actions and consequences of our actions, intended or otherwise. The characters take time with their lives, reminding us to do so with ours. Indeed, reading these stories is often a break/holiday from our overextended realities!
All of AMSs books have an expectation and anticipation of well written stories, concerning individuals who matter to us. I always read them for details of life in Edinburgh (one of my home cities), Scotland in general, as well as character development. So many fascinating details of the Edinburgh I know, each book in the Dalhousie series is like going home for a week, right back to my neighbourhood. The books all tend to make me homesick, with the sights, sounds, smells, inquisitiveness of active minds. You call them busybodies, I call them good company. They are a familiar set of friends now. I have booked my plane ticket back already. He so clearly understands the charming quirks of human nature, while writing a satisfying, insightful, intelligent, and fun story.
As always there is no sense of time for me (how much has passed since the last book, where are they in their lives, why aren't they married yet?) Some of it seems a bit farfetched, although I am truly aware that truth is stranger than fiction. So little of the brutal side of Edinburgh life is ever evinced. But then there are readers who only like Quintine Jardine, instead of Ian Rankin. Edinburgh is currently the City of Literature, and has a glorious literary past (and obviously present and future).
Monday, November 8, 2010
A Celtic Evening Silent Auction Items
Silent Auction items arriving!
Generous Scottish donations from Andy's Liquor include Hendricks Gin with Q tonic (only the best) and Balvenie single malt - 12 year old whisky with 2 Riedel whisky glasses (the ideal way to drink any whisky).
You still have a chance to purchase tickets for this event on November 30th! Ticket sales close November 24 and are not available at the door.
Generous Scottish donations from Andy's Liquor include Hendricks Gin with Q tonic (only the best) and Balvenie single malt - 12 year old whisky with 2 Riedel whisky glasses (the ideal way to drink any whisky).
You still have a chance to purchase tickets for this event on November 30th! Ticket sales close November 24 and are not available at the door.
Friends' Bookstore Second Saturday Sale
Don't forget!
Saturday, November 13
Best of the Bookstore! Buy one/Get one Free on coffee table books and your choice of a free Friends' t-shirt or a canvas library bag when you spend $20.00 or more.
10:00 am - 1:00 pm in the library foyer
Saturday, November 13
Best of the Bookstore! Buy one/Get one Free on coffee table books and your choice of a free Friends' t-shirt or a canvas library bag when you spend $20.00 or more.
10:00 am - 1:00 pm in the library foyer
Friday, November 5, 2010
Guy Fawkes
Remember Remember the 5th of November,
Gunpowder plot and treason....
Guy Fawkes(13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James VI and I and the entire Protestant court, and even most of the Catholic aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a necessary reaction to the systematic discrimination against English Catholics.
The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert Catesby, but Fawkes was put in charge of its execution. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search of the cellars underneath Parliament in the early hours of 5 November prompted by the receipt of an anonymous warning letter. This search is still performed over 400 years later before the opening Parliament. The conspirators were executed.
Guy Fawkes Night (or "bonfire night"), held on 5 November in the United Kingdom and some parts of the Commonwealth, is a commemoration of the plot, during which an effigy of Fawkes is burned, often accompanied by a fireworks display. The word "guy", meaning "man" or "person", is derived from his name.
In 18th-century England, it became a tradition for children to display a grotesque effigy of Fawkes, termed a "guy", as part of the Bonfire Night celebration. As part of the tradition, they would often stand on streetcorners begging for "a penny for the guy". The "guy" would be burned on a bonfire at the end of the evening. As a consequence, "guy" came to mean a man of odd appearance. Subsequently, in American English, "guy" lost any pejorative connotation, becoming a simple reference for any man.
Antonia Fraser's 1996 book The Gunpowder Plot is excellent!
There is also some fun/excellent poetry concerning this event, a tradition that continues to today.
Gunpowder plot and treason....
Guy Fawkes(13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James VI and I and the entire Protestant court, and even most of the Catholic aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a necessary reaction to the systematic discrimination against English Catholics.
The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert Catesby, but Fawkes was put in charge of its execution. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search of the cellars underneath Parliament in the early hours of 5 November prompted by the receipt of an anonymous warning letter. This search is still performed over 400 years later before the opening Parliament. The conspirators were executed.
Guy Fawkes Night (or "bonfire night"), held on 5 November in the United Kingdom and some parts of the Commonwealth, is a commemoration of the plot, during which an effigy of Fawkes is burned, often accompanied by a fireworks display. The word "guy", meaning "man" or "person", is derived from his name.
In 18th-century England, it became a tradition for children to display a grotesque effigy of Fawkes, termed a "guy", as part of the Bonfire Night celebration. As part of the tradition, they would often stand on streetcorners begging for "a penny for the guy". The "guy" would be burned on a bonfire at the end of the evening. As a consequence, "guy" came to mean a man of odd appearance. Subsequently, in American English, "guy" lost any pejorative connotation, becoming a simple reference for any man.
Antonia Fraser's 1996 book The Gunpowder Plot is excellent!
There is also some fun/excellent poetry concerning this event, a tradition that continues to today.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
December BOOK SALE
SAVE THE DATE!
One of our best sales is held in December, on Sunday the 5th, in the Rochester Public Library Auditorium. We will have excellent gift books, wonderful baked goods and other items for sale in the tradition of our previous Christmas/Holiday sales. This will be the theme for our Second Saturday Sale that month, on December 11th.
Check this space for additional information as we get closer to the event.
One of our best sales is held in December, on Sunday the 5th, in the Rochester Public Library Auditorium. We will have excellent gift books, wonderful baked goods and other items for sale in the tradition of our previous Christmas/Holiday sales. This will be the theme for our Second Saturday Sale that month, on December 11th.
Check this space for additional information as we get closer to the event.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Scottish Authors
The Scots have an ancient oral tradition of song and story, as well a high literacy and keenness for education. Not surprisingly, Scotland has a large number of world-renowned authors.
Sir Walter Scott is the father of historical fiction, popularizing and romanticizing the Highlanders.
Robert Burns is the National Poet of Scotland. His life is celebrated all around the world every January with the Burn’s Supper. Auld Lang Syne is sung every New Year’s Eve.
Robert Louis Stevenson is the author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, charming Childhood Versus, and much more.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of Edinburgh’s best mystery writers basing the character of Sherlock Holmes on the physician Bell in the School of Medicine.
Sir J. M. Barrie - Author of the immortal Peter Pan.
Kenneth Grahame - Author of classic children’s tale The Wind in the Willows.
George MacDonald - 19th century romance for adults and wonderful fairy tales for children his works greatly influenced C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Muriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was unforgettably performed by Maggie Smith in the film version.
John Buchan - Writing in the first half of the 20th century, his most famous book is the spy novel The 39 Steps.
James Boswell - Chronicled the life of Samuel Johnson and their unforgettable journey through the Scottish Highlands.
James Herriot - Born in Scotland, his stories of veterinary practice in Northern England delight and enrich.
Additional Scottish Authors
Classics
David Hume
Hugh MacDiarmid
Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Neil Gunn
Sorley MacLeod
George Mackay Brown
Allan Massie
Will Napier
Allan Ramsay
Adam Smith
Tobias George Smollet
Fiction
Iain Banks
James Buchan
Billy Connolly
Douglas Dunn
Craig Fergusson
William Fiennes
Andrew Greig
Alisdair Grey
Cliff Hanley
James Kelman
A.L. Kennedy
Richard K Morgan
Alexander McCall Smith
Ali Smith
Nigel Tranter
Mysteries
Kate Atkinson
MC Beaton
Dorothy Dunnett
Michael Faber
Quintin Jardine
Alistair MacLean
Val McDermid
Stef Penny
Ian Rankin
Iain Crichton Smith
Mary Stewart
Jeff Torrington
Non-Fiction
Bruce A. McAndrew
T. C. Smout
Christopher A. Whatley
Alex Woolf
Poetry
Liz Lockhead
Edwin Morgan (Makar)
Tartan Noir
Iain Banks
Alasdair Grey
Ian Rankin
Jeff Torrington
Irvine Welsh
Sir Walter Scott is the father of historical fiction, popularizing and romanticizing the Highlanders.Robert Burns is the National Poet of Scotland. His life is celebrated all around the world every January with the Burn’s Supper. Auld Lang Syne is sung every New Year’s Eve.
Robert Louis Stevenson is the author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, charming Childhood Versus, and much more.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of Edinburgh’s best mystery writers basing the character of Sherlock Holmes on the physician Bell in the School of Medicine.
Sir J. M. Barrie - Author of the immortal Peter Pan.
Kenneth Grahame - Author of classic children’s tale The Wind in the Willows.
George MacDonald - 19th century romance for adults and wonderful fairy tales for children his works greatly influenced C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Muriel Spark - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was unforgettably performed by Maggie Smith in the film version.
John Buchan - Writing in the first half of the 20th century, his most famous book is the spy novel The 39 Steps.
James Boswell - Chronicled the life of Samuel Johnson and their unforgettable journey through the Scottish Highlands.
James Herriot - Born in Scotland, his stories of veterinary practice in Northern England delight and enrich.
Additional Scottish Authors
Classics
David Hume
Hugh MacDiarmid
Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Neil Gunn
Sorley MacLeod
George Mackay Brown
Allan Massie
Will Napier
Allan Ramsay
Adam Smith
Tobias George Smollet
Fiction
Iain Banks
James Buchan
Billy Connolly
Douglas Dunn
Craig Fergusson
William Fiennes
Andrew Greig
Alisdair Grey
Cliff Hanley
James Kelman
A.L. Kennedy
Richard K Morgan
Alexander McCall Smith
Ali Smith
Nigel Tranter
Mysteries
Kate Atkinson
MC Beaton
Dorothy Dunnett
Michael Faber
Quintin Jardine
Alistair MacLean
Val McDermid
Stef Penny
Ian Rankin
Iain Crichton Smith
Mary Stewart
Jeff Torrington
Non-Fiction
Bruce A. McAndrew
T. C. Smout
Christopher A. Whatley
Alex Woolf
Poetry
Liz Lockhead
Edwin Morgan (Makar)
Tartan Noir
Iain Banks
Alasdair Grey
Ian Rankin
Jeff Torrington
Irvine Welsh
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A Celtic Evening update
We have been receiving wonderful, generous silent auction items including celtic coffees, numerous books, single malt whiskies, and much more. We have a new display case in the library lobby showcasing some of these items. Over the next couple of weeks we will rotate the donations a) to entice you to buy at ticket and b) to highlight our sponsors. Be sure to sign up as the space is limited, the chef needs to know accurate numbers and we have already 90 people! Hope to see you there!
A great program is planned. Details of the program will be available online next week.
Get into the Celtic spirit by joining us at the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale on November 6. See their website for details.
A great program is planned. Details of the program will be available online next week.
Get into the Celtic spirit by joining us at the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale on November 6. See their website for details.
Art Walk - November 4
Monday, November 1, 2010
Eric Dregni - Visiting Author Series
Eric Dregni teaches creative writing at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Italian at Hamline University and at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of several books, including Minnesota Marvels, and Midwest Marvels, and In Cod We Trust.
Find Eric Dregni online:
http://www.avclub.com/artists/eric-dregni,59579/
Halloween - Another Celtic event!
Halloween is one of the oldest CELTIC holidays (the festival of Samhain, original spelling Samuin, meaning end of the summer or light) in the Western European tradition. It is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". The ancient Celts believed that the border between life and death became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits, ghosts, faeries, and goblins (both good and bad) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home (with food and wine at the doorstep) while harmful spirits were warded off by the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world. But we are getting into the Celtic Spirit, leading up to our Celtic Evening 30 November!
Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. Black and orange are the traditional Halloween colors and represent the darkness of night and the color of bonfires, autumn leaves, and jack-o'-lanterns.
The souling practice of commemorating the souls purgatory with candle lanterns carved from Rutabaga/ turnips, became adapted into the making of jack-o'-lanterns. In traditional Celtic Halloween festivals, large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces, and placed in windows to ward off evil spirits. In North America pumpkins are carved they are both available at harvest time and much larger, easier to carve. Many families carve frightening or comical faces.
The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions have been expanded on from the British traditions with contemporary North American (USA and Canada) ingenuity. The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Saints/All Hallows Day (November 1st). Up through the early 20th century, the spelling "Hallowe'en" was frequently used, deleting the "v" and shortening the word.
American historian Ruth Edna Kelley wrote the first history in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter Hallowe'en in America; "The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Robert Burns poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used."
Imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as Frankenstein or Dracula), and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein (1931 film) and The Mummy (1932 film), and local harvests (corn husks, pumpkins, scarecrows, straw, etc.)
Trick-or-treating is part of the celebration for children. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats (mostly candy but sometimes money, often for UNICEF), with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Scotland children still go guising (this is normally on Guy Fawkes Night 5 November). In this custom the child performs some sort of trick, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, to earn their treats.
Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. Costuming became popular for US Halloween parties in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s. Costumes are traditionally imitate monsters such as vampires, ghosts, witches, and devils, or in more recent years such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, athletes, celebrities, or media characters. Ghost stories and horror films are common fixtures at Halloween parties. Halloween-themed television series and specials are commonly aired at the end of October; new horror films are often released theatrically to take advantage of the Halloween atmosphere.
Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. A traditional Scottish form of divining one's future spouse is to carve an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over one's shoulder. The peel will land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name (I always wondered if it was first or last name). You would also twist the core of an apple a, b c, d, e, f, etc, revealing the letter of the future spouse's name. Unmarried women sat in a darkened room, gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, hoping to see the face of their future husband. Viewing was not without risk; if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear.
Halloween also coincides with the apple harvest. At one time, candy or caramel apples were commonly given to children, but the practice rapidly waned in the 1970s. One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of barmbrack, a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. The person who receives the ring will find their true love in the ensuing year, similar to the traditional king cake at the festival of Epiphany.
Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. Black and orange are the traditional Halloween colors and represent the darkness of night and the color of bonfires, autumn leaves, and jack-o'-lanterns.
The souling practice of commemorating the souls purgatory with candle lanterns carved from Rutabaga/ turnips, became adapted into the making of jack-o'-lanterns. In traditional Celtic Halloween festivals, large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces, and placed in windows to ward off evil spirits. In North America pumpkins are carved they are both available at harvest time and much larger, easier to carve. Many families carve frightening or comical faces.
The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions have been expanded on from the British traditions with contemporary North American (USA and Canada) ingenuity. The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even ("evening"), that is, the night before All Saints/All Hallows Day (November 1st). Up through the early 20th century, the spelling "Hallowe'en" was frequently used, deleting the "v" and shortening the word.
American historian Ruth Edna Kelley wrote the first history in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter Hallowe'en in America; "The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Robert Burns poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used."
Imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as Frankenstein or Dracula), and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein (1931 film) and The Mummy (1932 film), and local harvests (corn husks, pumpkins, scarecrows, straw, etc.)
Trick-or-treating is part of the celebration for children. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats (mostly candy but sometimes money, often for UNICEF), with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Scotland children still go guising (this is normally on Guy Fawkes Night 5 November). In this custom the child performs some sort of trick, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, to earn their treats.
Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. Costuming became popular for US Halloween parties in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1930s. Costumes are traditionally imitate monsters such as vampires, ghosts, witches, and devils, or in more recent years such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, athletes, celebrities, or media characters. Ghost stories and horror films are common fixtures at Halloween parties. Halloween-themed television series and specials are commonly aired at the end of October; new horror films are often released theatrically to take advantage of the Halloween atmosphere.
Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. A traditional Scottish form of divining one's future spouse is to carve an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over one's shoulder. The peel will land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name (I always wondered if it was first or last name). You would also twist the core of an apple a, b c, d, e, f, etc, revealing the letter of the future spouse's name. Unmarried women sat in a darkened room, gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, hoping to see the face of their future husband. Viewing was not without risk; if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear.
Halloween also coincides with the apple harvest. At one time, candy or caramel apples were commonly given to children, but the practice rapidly waned in the 1970s. One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of barmbrack, a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin and other charms are placed before baking. The person who receives the ring will find their true love in the ensuing year, similar to the traditional king cake at the festival of Epiphany.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)