Ferndale Library Staff Recommends: Lindsey's Next Round of Picks

Lindsey Harnish animates Ferndale Public Library’s circulation desk, juggling the piles of incoming and outgoing media, getting shiny new books ready for you to borrow and resuscitating the damaged ones. She is on the library’s Arts and Exhibition Committee, which is bringing exhibitions, lectures and new art books to the library (www.facebook.com/FPLArt). Ferndale has been her home since 2005, where she spends much of her time making fantastic paintings (facebook.com/LynzCreates) and giving her husband, houserabbit and alien cat roughly half of the attention they deserve.

Now for five great picks from Lindsey!

Feast Your Eyes
Cheryl Willard
770.92 W

Fire-breathing, hula hooping, high-flying local performers are juxtaposed amidst the glory and decay of Detroit landscapes in this gorgeous photography book. Cheryl Willard captures the underground circus and burlesque performers in action, with images that are vivid and extraordinary. Feast Your Eyes is an amazing compendium of tremendous local talent.

This book was purchased with the James C. Dance Grant gifted to the library by the Metro Detroit Book and Author Society. If there are books by local artists you would like for the library to consider for our collection, please contact me at FPLArts@ferndalepubliclibrary.org

Mimi’s Dada Catifesto
Shelly Jackson
JE JAC

Clever Mimi the cat may wander the streets, but her creative mind knows she’ll find her home. Not just any home will do, for an artistic creature like Mimi will be most content with an equally artistic human. Through sound poems, ready-made art and beyond, Mimi seeks to win the heart of Mr. Dada.

Dada art was meant to confound, yet this book illustrates the concepts and ideas with wit and clarity that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Fancifully depicted with mixed media collage, vibrant paintings and spiraling text, it’s a delightful read to share.


Till We Have Faces
C.S. Lewis
Fic Lewis

The truth is a tricky thing, particularly as it seems to shift and change from perspective to perspective. Till We Have Faces is the myth of Cupid and Psyche as accounted by Psyche’s half-sister, Orual. Homely and unlovable, Orual’s world is a forlorn place until the birth of the gorgeous and glowing Psyche. Their joy is brief, as soon the gods become jealous of Psyche and her increasing adulation among the people. They decree that Psyche must be sacrificed to restore balance in the kingdom, a fate that Orual can never comprehend nor reconcile. But has everything occurred as Orual remembers it?

Achingly wise and handsomely written, my own copy of this book is cracked and dog-eared from repeated revisits. A haunting book, filled with vivid characters and rife with allusions to history, mythology and poetry from ancient times, it’s as brilliant as it is engaging.

If you’re fascinated by mythology, you should check out “The Power of Myth”--a lecture on art, history and mythology presented by the DIA at the Ferndale Public Library on Tuesday, July 17th at 7pm.


The Band’s Visit
DVD Foreign

A disaster of a wrong turn and an entire Egyptian band finds themselves stranded in another country, in dusty small town in the middle of nowhere. Locals put up the troupe in their homes for the night and here is where the barriers of culture and country are crossed by connections of music and humanity. Sweetly affecting, funny and understated.

Skyline

Yann Tiersen
CD Tiersen

Transcendent melodies build and evolve in this new release by Yann Tiersen, composer of the soundtrack to Amelie. Here, you’ll again encounter the winding compositions that incorporate toy pianos and accordions, but radio glitches, electronic textures and layered vocals add texture. Ranging from wistful to psychedelic, classical to experimental, it’s an intriguing musical journey.

Ferndale Patch thanks Lindsey Harnish and the Ferndale Public Library for these recommendations! Check back soon for more ideas from library staff. Are you looking for recommendations on something specific? Email jessica.schrader@patch.com, and we'll pass on your questions to the library.