AiS Book Club: What to Read Spring Quarter?

It is time to  pick a book for the Spring Quarter meeting of the AiS Book Club.  Here are the suggestions we've received so far:

 Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.  Pulitzer Prize winning collection of short stories from the author of The Namesake.  Lahiri's stories often show the diverse ways Indian Americans navigate the intersection between their traditional culture and American culture.  I've really enjoyed the few Lahiri stories I've read and it seems any one story could make for a great discussion.

 What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell.  The latest collection of non-fiction essays from the author of The Tipping Point.  Gladwell's essays present unique views of various sociological phenomena.  Check out the table of contents at the link above; potential abounds for lively, perhaps even heated discussion.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.  A comics memoir detailing the author's childhood in rural Pennsylvania and her complex relationship with her closeted father.  I've mentioned the awesomeness of Bechdel's comics on this blog before. 

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain.  A giant in the genre of food writing.  Bourdain holds strong opinions and is never afraid to express them.  He is also highly entertaining. 

I think anyone of these books would be an excellent pick.  Let us know what you think in the comments or via email to ais_library@aii.edu.  Feel free to suggest other titles.  You can also use this form for book club suggestions.

Art at Your Doorstep

Virginia and Bagley Wright are the biggest names in Seattle when it comes to art collecting. In addition to getting in early on the 'blue-chip' jackpots of American modernism, the Wrights are well-known for their generosity in supporting a number arts foundations and organizations with their collections and funds. Not to mention contributions to such Seattle icons as The Space Needle, Hammering Man, and, pictured here, Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk at UW's red square.

Now you have a rare opportunity to check out some of the prizes of the Wright collection in their private exhibition space. Just up on Dexter - 407 Dexter Ave. N. - only open Thursday/Friday 10-2 through March 26.

Found in the Stacks: An Edge in the Kitchen

An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward (call # TX657.K54 W37 2008)

This short book is packed with clear, well-written advice for selecting, sharpening, and using kitchen knives.  Ward includes useful descriptions of different types of knives, reviews of various manufacturers, and guides for purchasing the best knives in a given budget.  Equally helpful is the succinct, comprehensive section on sharpening and maintaining knives.

AiS Book Club - Thursday at 4:30

The AiS Book Club’s first meeting will be this Thursday, March 4 from 4:30-5:30 in room 515 in the North Campus.  There will be pizza.

 

Murakami illustration by Jeffrey Brown via Hey Oscar Wilde...

This quarter's selection is Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore.  John Updike sums it up pretty well in his New Yorker review, calling the book "an insistently metaphysical mind-bender"and noting its "bewildering overflow of possible meanings."  It should be a fun discussion and of course pizza is delicious.

Scholarship Applications Due Friday

Don't forget.  Applications for the AiS Library Literacy Scholarship are due this Friday, February 26.  You can pick up an application in the library or download one here.

Links!

On the AiS Library website we have lists of extremely cool and useful sites. I just added a two that will be helpful to anyone looking for online books:
Bartleby.com : Online books, including reference, classics, fiction and more.
Perseus Digital Library : Ebook collection that covers the history, literature and culture of the Greco-Roman world.

My favorite area to browse is the Design Links Page. It's jam-packed with awesome sites. Here are just a few:
CG Textures : Free textures.
Graphic Exchange : A blog of neat-o artwork, collected by a graphic designer.
Public Health Image Library : Multimedia from the Center for Disease Control.
VectorVault : Vector artwork and more.

Check out our Links page for lots more, and let us know if there's something we're missing!

Nothing like Noir

Check out SIFF's annual Film Noir Festival -NOIR CITY- the theme is LUST AND LARCENY. Just a few blocks away at Seattle Center's McCaw Hall, here's a chance to see dark, brooding, sexy classics such as The Postman Always Rings Twice (still pictured) or more obscure thrillers on the big screen. Series Runs February 19th through 25th. Oh and...lots of double features!