June 2014 – book-lover and writerly events at Eugene Public Library
All events FREE.
Summer Reading for All Ages at Eugene Public Library
Starting June 1, continuing all summer.
Sign up and join in the fun at Eugene Public Library with this year’s Summer Reading theme, “Fizz! Boom! Read!” All summer, visit any Library location — Downtown, Sheldon, or Bethel — to sign up and enjoy free events. Each child and teen gets a free book; each adult gets a free book bag and a coupon for a free coffee or $1 off books at the Friends of the Library book store. Plus: a free raffle for kids to win passes to City of Eugene pools and local museums, and for teens and adults to win gift cards to local stores. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Writer McKenzie Funk: “Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming”
Thursday, June 5, 6:00 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
Journalist McKenzie Funk will give a talk based on his book “Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming,” which explores the climate change crisis through the eyes of those who view it as a business opportunity.
Global warming’s physical impacts include three broad categories: melt, drought, and deluge. Funk spent the last six years traveling the world to profile entrepreneurs who see in each of these forces a potential windfall.
According to The New Yorker, “Funk’s take on global-warming profiteering is as entertaining as it is disturbing.” Environmental writer Elizabeth Kolbert says the book is “smart, daring, and darkly funny.” On their Best Books of the Month list for January 2014, Amazon’s Neal Thompson wrote, “Like a mashup of Michael Lewis and Mark Twain, Funk is an intrepid investigator and a lively, smart writer. From eco hedge funds to dam building to desalination plants, he shows how climate change is creating new opportunities and a potential boon for cowboy entrepreneurs. This is the rare book that’s both important and highly readable.”
McKenzie Funk is a journalist whose work has appeared in Harper’s, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, GQ, Outside, and the New York Times. A National Magazine and Livingston Award finalist and the winner of the Oakes Prize for Environmental Journalism, he was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, where he studied economics and system thinking. Free. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Mike Pungecar: “The Promise Kept”
Friday, June 6, 5:00 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
In recognition of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, a talk by Mike Pungercar about his book “The Promise Kept: A story of Life and Death in the 91st Bomb Group and in the Eighth Air Force in World War II.” His talk, like the book, is illustrated with many historical photographs.
“The Promise Kept” tells the story of WWII airmen who flew in bombers, unpressurized, wearing heated suits and oxygen masks for hours at altitudes where temperatures fell to 50 below zero. He says, “Thousands of young Americans served in World War II, and today a thousand veterans of this part of our history are dying each day. We must not forget their sacrifices, their stories.”
Pungercar is a member of the Eighth Air Force Historical Society – Oregon Chapter, the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association, and the Experimental Aircraft Association. Free. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Writer Linda Clare: Quilting and Native American Culture
Saturday, June 7, 3:00 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
Native Americans adopted quilting from white settlers and missionaries, and then adapted quilt patterns to reflect their own cultures. Writer Linda S. Clare will discuss the changing use of Native American quilts over time, as well as how Indian schools have changed from assimilation factories during the “Manifest Destiny” 1800s-early 1900s to culture-preserving Native schools today.
Clare’s latest novel, “A Sky Without Stars,” features a Lakota Star quilt pattern. Among her previous books is another novel, “The Fence My Father Built.” Her essays, stories, and poems have been published widely including in The Christian Reader, The Denver Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She also teaches writing, and edits and mentors writers. Free. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Writer Lindsay Hill: “Sea of Hooks”
Wednesday, June 11, 6:00 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
Join Lindsay Hill for a reading from his novel “Sea of Hooks,” named as The Oregonian’s #1 Northwest Book of 2013, one of New York Magazine’s Top 10 Books of 2013, one of Publishers Weekly’s Top 5 Fiction titles of 2013, and a finalist for the 2014 Chautauqua Prize.
Hill’s background as a poet is evident in his telling of this story of a man growing out of an abusive childhood. According to a starred review in Publishers Weekly, the novel’s “meditations on death, memory, the relations of bones to the self, not to mention rain and snow and fog and the cosmos, are mystical, highly poetic and musically rendered-an almost impossibly sustained performance from beginning to end. Nearly every paragraph astonishes, every moment rich with magic and daring. Reminiscent of Robert Pirsig and Herman Hesse in its concern with authenticity, ‘Sea of Hooks’ also has the unbearable anguish of Kafka’s diaries-making for an unforgettable trip.”
Lindsay Hill has published six books of poetry and his work has appeared in a wide variety of literary journals. He co-edits the literary journal “Facture” with Paul Naylor. “Sea of Hooks” is his first novel, the product of nearly twenty years of work. Since leaving a career in banking, he has worked in the nonprofit sector. Free. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Discover the Info Hub
Saturday, June 14, 10:00 a.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
Whatever you need to know, find it at the Info Hub on the Eugene Public Library website. The Info Hub offers dozens of premium online tools and resources — free of charge! Topics include genealogy, language learning, job search, health, consumer info, homework help, test preparation, newspapers and magazines, and much, much more. Internet skills required. Free. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Print Your Book
Monday, June 23, 5:30 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
This two-hour class offers an introduction to the many self-publishing resources available online. Whether you have written a book you want to print and sell widely, or you want to print just a few copies of a family history or recipe collection, self-publishing is now easier and more affordable than ever. Intermediate computer and Internet skills required. Free. Information: 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Tween Scene Book Group
Thursday, June 26, 4:00 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
This month’s book is “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” by Stephan Pastis. It’s the hilarious tale of an eleven-year-old who explains that he’s running the best detective agency anywhere – with his polar bear sidekick and other “facts” that clue readers in to the real story. This is the first book for kids by the creator of the comic strip “Pearls Before Swine.” For grades 4 through 6. Pre-register and pick up the book at the Children’s Center starting June 1. Free. Information: 541-682-8316 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.
Teen Book Group
Thursday, June 26, 4:00 p.m., Downtown Eugene Public Library, 10th & Olive
This month’s book is “This is What Happy Looks Like” by Jennifer Smith. When an e-mail mistake connects two teens online, they have no idea who the other is, just that they like writing back and forth. What happens when they meet – and it turns out she’s a small town girl with a secret, and he’s a movie star? For middle and high school ages. Visit the Downtown Teen Desk to pre-register and pick up your copy of the book starting June 1. Free. Information: 541-682-8316 or www.eugene-or.gov/library<http://www.eugene-or.gov/library>.