LibraryPoint Blog

Chester Himes had a hard life, even for someone growing up in the 'thirties. He took some knocks early on, knocks many people get in life; it was the racism he encountered in LA that made him bitter, a bitterness which put a fire in his belly and informed so much of his best work. Himes probably would have drawn little consolation over the fact he was breaking new trails for  authors such as  Walter Mosley. But he did.

Check out our Flickr slideshow to see new pictures of England Run, our newest branch in Stafford county.

It's really taking shape, and it's beautiful!

This Saturday's author program for kids with Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger has been postponed due to the impending snow.  Our co-sponsor, Jabberwocky Children's Books, is working on a new date in May. Stay tuned for the announcement of their rescheduled visit!
 

Come join the Rappahannock Film Club and the Central Rappahannock Regional Library as we show David Lean's Brief Encounter (1945) on Saturday, Febrary 6th at 2:00 pm.  This British film, based on Noel Coward's stage play "Still Life," explores the thrill and pain of an illicit romance in 1945 Britain. From a chance meeting on a train platform, a middle-aged doctor (Trevor Howard) and a suburban housewife (Celia Johnson) enter into a quiet yet passionate love affair, knowing there's no possibility for a lasting relationship. The two meet every Thursday at a small café at the station to play out their doomed romance.

    Stonewall Hinkleman is a typical twelve-year-old boy whose parents are ardent Civil War re-enactors.  This means that every weekend he’s dragged (his word) to another Civil War battle site.  His father reveres an ancestor, Cyrus Hinkleman, who fought and died in the war, despite the fact that, as Stonewall puts it, “He was shot in the butt… Which can only mean one thing.  He was running away when he was shot.”  Dressed in a scratchy wool uniform and dragging a bugle that he barely knows how to play, Stonewall sulks around wishing he could play his Game Boy.

Born a slave in Franklin County, Virginia, Booker T. (Taliaferro) Washington went on to become a nationally-known leader and educator. He shared his educational philosophy with U.S. presidents and served as the first president of Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University.

Twentieth-century illustrator Norman Rockwell reflected in his work much of what was good in America. He is known for his sweet depictions of small-town life—soda fountains, family scenes, Boy Scouts, town meetings, doctors’ offices, and boys with dogs—but one of his most touching images was a painful one from the Civil Rights Era: “The Problem We All Live With.”

On Thursday, January 14, 2010, James E. Goehring of the University of Mary Washington’s Department of Classics, Philosophy and Religion gave a talk on Jesus of Nazareth. The lecture was part of the University's Great Lives series.

    As we all respond to the tragedy in Haiti, share these children’s books about the island for an inside look at the people, the place and the culture.

    Diane Wolkstein visited Haiti to collect the traditional stories in her collection, “The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales.”