This month's Media Alert:

For more information, contact: Deanna Larson
Nashville Public Library
615-862-5755
deanna.larson@nashville.gov

Happy New Year @ Nashville Public Library

All events are free and open to the public; hi res pictures are available

Art/Books

Cultural Heroes: Sculpture by Alan LeQuire
Leading figures from American cultural history including Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Leadbelly, Paul Robeson and Woody Guthrie are represented in this new exhibit of colossal bronze portrait heads sculpted by Alan LeQuire. January 23-May 31 in the Art Gallery at Main Library, 615 Church St., 862-5800.

2nd Wednesday Book Club: Life Is So Good
George Dawson was born in the 19th century and faced the terrible racial conditions of the South head on, living to be more than 100 years old. His wrote his unbelievable autobiography, Life Is So Good, after learning to read at age 98. Always remaining positive, Dawson's inspiring take on one of the world's most dynamic centuries will transform the way you view your own life. Join us and feel free to bring a lunch! Wednesday, January 14 at noon at Main Library, 615 Church St., 862-5800.

Experimental Literature Book Club: Dhalgren
This month, we tackle Samuel Delany's science fiction masterpiece Dhalgren. When the outcast Kid is drawn to the mythical town of Bellona where time and space apparently have no meaning, his mind begins to lose its bearings, too. A powerful maelstrom of apocalyptic literatures, Dhalgren is notorious for changing the way readers interpret books afterwards. Thursday, January 15 at 6:00 p.m. at Main Library, 615 Church St., 862-5800.

Inglewood Book Talk: Fatal Fixer-Upper
Enjoy refreshments and meet Nashville-based Realtor and writer Jennie Bentley as she discusses her debut novel, Fatal Fixer-upper, the first in her Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation Mystery series from Penguin/Putnam. The book was a national bestseller for Barnes & Noble Booksellers this past fall, an entertaining whodunit starring New York textile designer Avery Baker, who decides to spend the summer renovating her late Aunt Inga's decrepit Victorian cottage in tiny Waterfield, Maine but lands knee-deep in murder, historical intrigue and maybe even romance. Thursday, January 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Inglewood Branch Library, 4312 Gallatin Road, 862-5866.

Film

Movies @ Main: Little Red Riding Hood
In the 1920s, while Walt Disney was making cartoons based on faithful adaptations of Brothers Grimm and other European fairy tales, other animation studios chose to twist, upend and re-invent them. Join guest lecturer Gregory Clark, professor of art history at the University of the South, for an entertaining look at how Warner Bros and M-G-M animators imaginatively remade the story of Little Red Riding Hood in the late 1930s and early 1940s to reflect the themes and concerns of pre-World War II America (screening not appropriate for young children). Saturday, January 17 at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium at Main Library, 615 Church St., 862-5800.

Learning

East Branch Library Speaker’s Series: Home Renovation Workshops
This popular free speaker series returns with a focus on inexpensive and green DIY home improvements, presented the third Thursday of each month, January-June, 2009 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at East Branch Library, 206 Gallatin Road, 862-5860. January 15: Jeff Middlebrooks of E3 Innovate, LLC presents “The Healthier, More Energy Efficient Home,” a hands-on workshop featuring easy, do-it-yourself projects to make a home healthier and more energy efficient including a demonstration of diagnostic tests used during a home energy audit. All participants will receive an energy savings product to take home.

Children/Family

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Based on the book by Lewis Carroll, this all-ages interactive show is performed with live performers as well as shadow and hand puppets. Fridays and Saturdays, January 23, 24, 30 & 31 at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in the Children’s Theater at Main Library, 615 Church St., 862-5800.

The Artist Within Workshop
Author, artist and mother Whitney Ferre' shares her insight into the right brain and creativity, and how parents and kids benefit from creative workouts, in this "mommy, daddy & me" collaborative creativity workshop based on her book, The Artist Within, A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit. Ferre' helps parents find a new voice to help expand the pre-K and school-age child’s mind. Friday, January 9 from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the Arts and Crafts Room at Main Library, 615 Church St., 862-5800.

Chinese New Year Celebration for Children
Gung Hay Fat Choy! School-age children can ring in the Year of the Ox and discover how the Chinese community celebrates the Lunar New Year, and learn about other Lunar New Year celebrations like Vietnam’s Tet and Korea’s Seollal, and create a “Lunar New Year” craft to take home, at this after-school event. Jan. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Goodlettsville Branch Library, 106 Brick Church Pike, 862-5862.