"The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis – Author Lewis examines the causes of the U.S. stock market crash of 2008 and its relation to overpriced real estate, bad mortgages, shareholder demand for excessive profits, and the growth of toxic derivatives in this non-fiction book. The film version is nominated for such awards as Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale.





 

"Brooklyn: A Novel" by Colm Tóibín – Set in both Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, a young Irish woman, Eilis, crosses the Atlantic to make a new life for herself and becomes torn between love in America and her family back in Ireland. Brooklyn’s film adaptation is nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress in a Leading Role for star Saoirse Ronan.






 

"The Danish Girl: A Novel" by David Ebershoff – Written in 2000, “The Danish Girl” tells the tale of Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo sexual reassignment surgery after realizing she is transgender. Actor Eddie Redmayne and actress Alicia Vikander, who star as Elbe and her wife Gerda, are nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively.





 

"The Martian: A Novel" by Andy Weir – Andy Weir’s book focuses on astronaut Mark Watney, who is accidentally left stranded on the surface of Mars after a dust storm forces his team to vacate the planet. Watney must use his science and engineering skills to survive on the planet until another space mission can return to rescue him. In addition to Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay nods, star Matt Damon is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role.






 

"The Price of Salt" or "Carol" by Patricia Highsmith – Originally published in the 1950s, “The Price of Salt” (also known as “Carol”) follows two lonely women who meet and develop a passionate romance in a time when such a relationship was taboo. The film is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress in a Leading role for Cate Blanchett (who plays the titular character) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Rooney Mara.





 

"The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge" by Michael Punke – In this story of survival, Hugh Glass is an expert trapper and frontiersman. After being viciously mauled by a massive grizzly bear and abandoned and left for dead by his fellow trappers, Hugh is pushed to survive by one thing --revenge. “The Revenant” has 12 nominations – more than any other film this year – including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Leonardo DiCaprio (who plays Glass) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Tom Hardy.




 

"Room" by Emma Donoghue – In Donaghue’s 2010 novel, five year-old Jack lives in a small 11x11 room with his mother, Ma, and has never been outside the room’s walls. As he grows older, Jack learns Ma has been held prisoner there for the past several years and that there is a whole world beyond the room. Star Brie Larson is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, while “Room” is also up for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.





 

"Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson – Isaacson’s biography of Apple CEO and visionary Steve Jobs is the basis for the biopic of the same name, starring Michael Fassbender, who is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role for portraying Jobs. Kate Winslet is also nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

]]> Dan Richter, Library Services Wed, 10 Feb 2016 11:02:18 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=14717 The United States has a new champion for poetry.

On June 10, the Library of Congress announced it appointed Juan Felipe Herrera as the nation’s Poet Laureate, a position that dates back to 1937 and is aimed at raising awareness of the reading and writing of poetry. Perhaps most significant in the announcement is the fact that Herrera, 66, is the first Latino poet to be named to the post.

You can read or listen to an NPR story here, but the short version is he’s the son of migrant farm workers and spent much of his earlier life on the west coast. He studied at both UCLA and Stanford, as well as the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. He has since written more than two dozen books.

If you’re curious to read some of Herrera’s work, libraries within the Wisconsin Valley Library Service have some copies you can request here. Also, if you’re willing to wait a little longer to receive his books, you can find hundreds of copies through our Interlibrary Loan system. (In both catalogs, search by the poet’s name.) The Marathon County Public Library also has a couple of sites – LitFinder and Literary Reference Center - within our online resources where you can find information about Herrera and past poets laureate, or other authors. (You'll need your library card number and PIN to log into LitFinder and LRC.)

Herrera will serve as Poet Laureate for the next two years, and joins past Poets Laureate such as Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams and Robert Penn Warren. In describing Herrera and his work, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said: “I see in Herrera’s poems the work of an American original—work that takes the sublimity and largesse of “Leaves of Grass” and expands upon it. His poems engage in a serious sense of play - in language and in image - that I feel gives them enduring power. I see how they champion voices and traditions and histories, as well as a cultural perspective, which is a vital part of our larger American identity."

Here is one of Herrera’s poems, excerpted from his 2008 book “Half a World in Light: New and Selected Poems.”

Let Me Tell You What a Poem Brings

for Charles Fishman

Before you go further,
let me tell you what a poem brings,
first, you must know the secret, there is no poem
to speak of, it is a way to attain a life without boundaries,
yes, it is that easy, a poem, imagine me telling you this,
instead of going day by day against the razors, well,
the judgments, all the tick-tock bronze, a leather jacket
sizing you up, the fashion mall, for example, from
the outside you think you are being entertained,
when you enter, things change, you get caught by surprise,
your mouth goes sour, you get thirsty, your legs grow cold
standing still in the middle of a storm, a poem, of course,
is always open for business too, except, as you can see,
it isn't exactly business that pulls your spirit into
the alarming waters, there you can bathe, you can play,
you can even join in on the gossip—the mist, that is,
the mist becomes central to your existence.

]]> Chad Dally / Library Services Thu, 11 Jun 2015 16:36:26 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=14370 Here are the winning entries. Library staff will contact the winners to make arrangements for picking up their prize.


5. “I am watching you right now” – Ann Seliger
4. “Dismembered demon wanders through macabre masquerade” – Shereen Siewert
3. “Finally alone, then the floor creaked” – Amber Edwards
2. "It’s Here. Don’t look. Don’t scream" – Kali Kaiser
 

• Janet Laska: ““Scary zombie escapes from the cemetery”
• Steve Weinkauf: “And Then the Lights Went Off”
• Juliana Palmcook: “Six Scary Spiders Slid Through Slime”
• Jason Mechelke: “Listen honey, I think I’m pregnant”
• Shereen Siewert: “Dismembered demon wanders through macabre masquerade”
• Jennifer Sorenson: “The Devil’s Night brings no dawn.”
• Elaine Iattoni: “Spooky Kooky Lucas Cookies Dead Now”
• Marsha Young: “In Darkness All Fears Lay Waiting
• Laney Pankratz: “Ghosts come. Ghouls come at night”
• Ty Pankratz: “Trapped in corner, zombies smile hungrily”
• Howard Lego:
  • “I’m Where You Think I’m Not”
  • “A Shadow Passes, or did it?”
  • “Chains Rattle, Then Silence echoes”
  • “An Open Window, That’s My Invite”
  • “Stop, Listen, Look! Bang! You’re Dead”
  • “Don’t Look Behind You; You’re Dead”
• Miriam Gustafson
  • "Leaves crackles underfoot, what was that?"
  • "Hiss! Started cat, light flickers out!"
  • "Warm fireplace, apparition coldly standing near"
  • "Smiling, warming cold-bloodied hands near fireplace"
  • "Cats hiss! Growl! It’s behind you!"
  • "Headless Horseman coming! This! No Fun!"
  • "Blood moon, seen between darkened forest"
  • "Steps, ball bouncing, head stops, feet"
  • "Knocking, candy, smiling, fling door open"
  • "Darkness, leaves scratch pavement, alone walking"
  • "Something moves in the shadows, darkness moves…"
  • "Knocking, candy, door opening, ghost disappears!"
  • "Broomstick found, must’ve come down. Witches!"
  • "Gnarled hand shooting up, dead landscape"
  • "Shadow creeps, leaves scuttle, darkness screams!"
  • "Headless horseman coming for you, alone"
  • "Nosferatu 1920’s vampire actor or real?"
  • "Nosferatu vampire gives me the chills"
  • "Candy spilt path, laughing trick treaters"
  • "Sundown, darkness creeps, miles from home"
  • "Candy apples glisten, children’s anticipation awaiting"
  • "Shadowed hallways, running to your room"
  • "Headless horseman chasing Ichabod in circles"
  • "Ouija slides, startles, never go back!!!"
  • "Broomstick, witches fly, blood moon sky"
  • "Ding-dong, grab candy, no one’s there!"
  • "Knocking, grab candy, no one’s there!"
  • "Knocking, smiling, candy excitement, door opens…"
  • "Frozen lake, gnarled hand shooting up!:
  • "Shrieks, doors that creak near you!"
  • "Headless horseman comes, run! You’re done!"
  • "Bubbling black murkiness, drinking Earl Grey"
  • "Distant caw, flutter, raven takes flight"
  • "Open shades, pale face staring in"
  • "Play with me, whispers the darkness"
  • "Dark path illuminated by ghostly sigh"
  • "Darkened house, lighted window, shadow passes"
  • "Blood-eyed moon, watching murder below"
  • "Candle blown out, stillness, darkness growling"
  • "Howling witches, coven, hidden black cave"
  • "Gnarled hand reaching, blood moon above"
  • "Ouija curse, better not touch board"
• Steven Grim: “Dead Eyes in the Deep Dark”
• Allan Johnson: ““I return a book that's overdue!”
• Cara Bahlow: “Delicious Blood Dripped from his fangs”
• Sharon Stachnik: “A murder of crows portended death”
• Carol Maes: “The Dark Cemetery Screamed with Horror!”
• Amber Edwards: ““Finally alone, then the floor creaked”
• Ann Seliger: “I am watching you right now”
• Karen Zumann: “Scary, spinetingling, bloodletting screams enshroud me”
• Brett Erikson: “Last Man on Earth, phone rings”
• Xavier Hackel: “Ghostly figures, blood curdling screams, overly gory”
• Asha Kavajecz: “Empty stomach, empty fridge, dead inside”
• Katie Hiebl: “The frantic shriek rung throughout all”
• Joshua Gumz: “Bloody body, shallow grave, dirty shovel"
• David Koeppl: "Step inside, the devil is I"
• Tianna Borchardt: "Daddy’s girl, unearthly screams, bloodstained walls"
• Maverick Mueller: "Deafening silence, don’t look behind you"
• Dana Heidmann: "Bone grinding, finger shattering, disintegrating corpse"
• Tianna Weatherby: "Macabre town, ungodly screams, gruesome deaths"
• Kassie Goodwin: “Our little secret” whispers my daddy
• Samantha Bruner: "Murdering cries, repulsive screams, gory face"
• Ben Lepak: "Help! Shots fired, nothing heard again"
• Travis Guralski: "Threatening skies, creepy clamor, sinister silhouettes"
• Caleb Michalewicz: "Decadent, cadaverous faces, scathing, heinous voices"
• Kali Kaiser: "It’s Here. Don’t look. Don’t scream"
• Jenna Heindl: "Cries from below, silence from above"
• Taylor Martyn: "Lurid pictures, occult discussions, horrifying night"
• Richard Butalla: "Dark room, rotting stench, ghastly moon"
• Ally Krueger: "Awakened by hammering, my coffin top"
• Matthew Urmanski: "Fresh white snow sprinkled with red"
• Taylor Kirsch: "Behemoth spider piercing elephant, fangs protruding"
• Sabrina Woller: "Gloomy park, overcast, walking, bushes, yelp!"
• Andrea Bargender: "Dismal forest, insanely quiet, twigs snap"
• James Smazal: "Creepy footsteps, creaky door, sudden screams"
• Katelyn Krause: "Masculine silhouette, woman shrieking, blood spattered"
• Chelsea Bauman: "Car wheels screech; training wheels spin"
• Kyla Baeseman: "I wept. We’re out of bacon"
• Travis Witt: "Buried in a steel casket, unconscious"
• Hunter Ellenbecker: "Eerie music, water running, door opening"
• Charles Niemann: "Monstrous night, rickety shack, blood-curdling scream stops"

]]> Kathleen Kosiec / Library Services Fri, 31 Oct 2014 07:12:12 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=14346 Finalists for the National Book Award were announced today, bringing recognition to 20 authors in four categories: fiction, non-fiction, poetry and young people’s literature.

The winners in each category will be announced Nov. 19, but if you’d like to sample the work of some of the nominees before or after the winners are selected, click any of the links below to find titles available in our catalog.

In other award-winning book news, The Man Booker Prize was just awarded yesterday to Richard Flanagan for "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" Find it in our catalog here.

National Book Award Nominees

Fiction

• Anthony Doerr: “All the Light We Cannot See” -
• Rabih Alameddine: “An Unnecessary Woman”
• Marilynne Robinson: “Lila”
• Phil Klay: “Redeployment”
• Emily St. John Mandel: “Station Eleven”

• Evan Osnos: “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China”
• Roz Chast: “Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?”
• Edward O. Wilson: “The Meaning of Human Existence”
• Anand Gopal: “No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban and the war through Afghan eyes”
• John Lahr: Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh”

• Claudia Rankine: “Citizen: An American Lyric”
• Louise Gluck: “Faithful and Virtuous Night Poems”
• Fred Moten: “The Feel Trio”
• Fanny Howe: “Second Childhood”
• Maureen N. McLane: “This Blue”

• Jacqueline Woodson: “Brown Girl Dreaming”
• John Corey Whaley: “Noggin”
• Steve Sheinkin: “Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and the fight for Civil Rights”
• Deborah Wiles: “Revolution”
• Eliot Schrefer: “Threatened”

]]> Chad Dally / Library Services Wed, 15 Oct 2014 13:01:49 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=12975 Pulitzer Prize winners, honoring journalism and the arts, were recently announced and include many authors whose work is available in MCPL's V-Cat system.

This year's top prize in fiction was awarded to Adam Johnson for his novel "The Orchard Master's Son," an adventurous and moving tale of a journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea. Finalists in the fiction category include Nathan Englander for his novel, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank" and Eowyn Ivey for her novel "The Snow Child."

Fredrik Logevall's historical account of the Vietnam War, "Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam" took the top prize in history, while Bernard Bailyn's book, "The Barbarous Years: The Peopling of British North America: The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600-1675" and John Fabian Witt's book "Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History" were nominated as finalists.

In the biography/autobiography category, Tom Reiss took the top prize for his account of Alexandre Dumas' father and the story behind the Count of Monte Cristo, "The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. Michael Gorra's "Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece" and David Nasaw's "The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy" were finalists for the prize.

Sharon Olds' book of poems, "Stag's Leap" received the 2013 Pulitzer for poetry, while Jack Gilbert's "Collected Poems" and Bruce Weigl's "The Abundance of Nothing" received finalist designations.

Finally, the general non-fiction prize was awarded to Gilbert King for his book "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America." Katherine Boo is a finalist for her book "Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity," as is David George Haskell for his book, "The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature."

]]> Chad Dally / Library Services Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:02:38 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=12944 Kids- Vote for your Favorite in the Children’s Choice Book Awards!  Who do you think should be “2013 Author of the Year?”  Jeff Kinney?  Rick Riordan?  Which book do you think should be “2013 Book of the Year?” Pete the Cat?  Bad Kitty?  Dork Diaries? Celebrate Children’s Book Week, May 13-19, by choosing your favorites!  From now thru May 9^th kids can vote for their favorite author, illustrator and book.  Your voice counts!  To vote, use the link below and start by choosing your age category and vote for your favorites.  Then visit the MCPL Wausau children’s department and receive your very own “I Voted” sticker.  And join us on May 20^th for a Children’s Book Week celebration at 10:30am!

http://www.bookweekonline.com/voting
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]]> Abby Beyerl- Library Services Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:46:04 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=12527 The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books for children and young adults this week. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the awards encourage original and creative work. Please note this is a partial listing. Use the link at the bottom of this post for a complete list.

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen -- Winner: Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

Creepy Carrots by Illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds -- Honor Book: Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

Extra Yarn by Illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by MarcBarnett -- Honor Book: Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger -- Honor Book: Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

One Cool Friend by Illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo -- Honor Book: Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

Sleep Like a Tiger by Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue -- Honor Book: Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

Up, Tall and High! by Ethan Long -- Winner: Seuss Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.

Let's Go For A Drive! by Mo Willems -- Honor Book: Seuss Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin and James Dean -- Honor Book: Seuss Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.

Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover by Cece Bell -- Honor Book: Seuss Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate -- Winner: Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz -- Honor Book: Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Bomb: The Race to Build - And Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin -- Honor Book: Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage -- Honor Book: Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

In Darkness by Nick Lake -- Winner: Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz -- Honor Book: Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

Code name Verity by Elizabeth Wein -- Honor Book: Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett -- Honor Book: Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

The White Bicycle by Beverly Brenna -- Honor Book: Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.

www.ala.org/newws/pr?id=12298

]]> Katie Zimmermann / MCPL Customer Services Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:19:06 GMT http://engagedpatrons.org/Blogs.cfm?SiteID=1769&BlogID=112&BlogPostID=11987 The Winner is Duck!!!  Hey kids- Your parents weren't the only ones that had a chance to vote.  367 Marathon County kids voted for "President" in the MCPL Children's area in Wausau.  2 library books were up for election "Grace for President" by Kelly DiPucchio and "Duck for President" by Doreen Cronin.  Duck won by a landslide with 229 votes to 138 votes for Grace.  Thank you to all of the kids that voted!  {{11-11-12}}

  

]]> Abby B.- Library Services Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:02:23 GMT