The Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch

What better way for a book group to get into the Christmas spirit than rereading this classic. Have you read the original Dickens' version, or just seen the movies or plays? Well, maybe it's time the read the original.

Christine and several other authors will read from a holiday anthology and conduct a book signing. Event will include a surprise appearance from Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

Throughout the month of April, a series of Kansas City Public Library events, in association with Rainy Day Books, dubbed Murder Ink will feature authors Christopher Rice, Scott Heim, and Lee Martin.

The triumvirate, boasting multiple bestseller listings and Pulitzer Prize consideration, are widely ... (more)considered to be among today’s premier murder-mystery writers. Rice will be at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., on Tuesday, April 1, Heim at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., on Tuesday, April 22, and Martin at Central on Tuesday, April 29.

Rice, a three-time bestselling author whose work has been described as "bold and ambitious" by The New York Times, will discuss his recently released military thriller, Blind Fall. The son of famed author Anne Rice doesn’t disappoint with this story of honor and integrity. Two men, one a Marine, one gay, must unite to avenge the death of the man they both loved—one as a brother-in-arms, one as a lover.

"I’m excited about Blind Fall," Rice said, "because I think, like my favorite thrillers that I enjoy reading, it engages a serious issue in a very suspenseful and exciting way."

Mysterious SkinHeim, perhaps best known for his novel Mysterious Skin, made into the 2004 film starring Elisabeth Shue and Brady Corbet, will discuss his recently released effort, We Disappear.

Born and raised in Kansas, Heim has penned a dark and compelling book about lost innocence, family responsibility, and the dangers of obsession.

The Bright ForeverRounding out the series is Martin, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, The Bright Forever. Past and present collide in Martin’s latest offering, River of Heaven, a story involving a man, his brother, and the dark secret that both connects and divides them. The haunting page-turner weaves a story of love and loss, confession and redemption, and the mystery surrounding the 1955 death of a boy named Dewey Finn.

All events begin at 7 p.m. with 6:30 p.m. receptions preceding the discussions. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending. Book copies for the authors will be available for sale courtesy of Rainy Day Books.

Futurist and journalist Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and six other books, speaks about what he calls the "Nature Deficit Disorder" in the fourth installment of Conversations on the Environment on Wednesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, ... (more)4801 Main Street. Admission is free.

As a child growing up in Raytown, Louv explored the woods around his home. As an adult, he researched what's happening to today's wired generation of America's children and then coined the phrase "Nature Deficit Disorder" to describe the most disturbing childhood trends: the rise in obesity, attention disorders and depression.

Louv's body of research indicates that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond – and they are right in our own backyard.

A 6:30 p.m. public reception precedes the presentation. Seating space for this event is limited. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending. Free parking is available in the Plaza Branch's parking garage.

The new edition of Last Child in the Woods will be published in April 2008 and will be available for sale courtesy of Rainy Day Books.

Conversations on the Environment is a year-long series of thought provoking presentations by recognized experts on how we can improve our environment and transform our community through sustainable living. Partners in the series include ASTRA Enterprises, BNIM Architects, the Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City Business Journal, Rainy Day Books, Kansas City Public Television, Bridging the Gap, Greenability Magazine and the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

Yale University Director of the Whitney Humanities Center, Maria Rosa Menocal, will give a discussion titled Intimacies and Betrayals: A Glance at the Cultural Entanglements of Medieval Spain on Thursday, May 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Menocal is the author of The Ornament ... (more)of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created A Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. She is a student of comparative medieval lyric and the formation of Castilian culture in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Menocal's books will be available courtesy of Rainy Day Books, and the author will sign copies purchased during the event.

Admission is free. A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

Alex Susskind will discuss how companies and organizations can improve customer service in a presentation titled At Your Service: Customers, Complaints, and Quality on Friday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Susskind, a professor at Cornell University since 1998, will use real-world ... (more)examples to explain what makes exceptional customer service. He will also share his research on the causes and types of complaints that occur in service environments and will discuss our perceptions of complaint resolution.

Susskind earned his Ph.D. in Communications from Michigan State University. He received his undergraduate degree at Purdue University from the Department of Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management. He is also a trained chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

The program is co-sponsored by the Cornell Club of Mid America.

Admission is free. A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

The author of the National Outdoor Book Award winner, Out There: In the Wild in a Wired Age, Ted Kerasote discusses his latest book, Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog on Tuesday, May 6, at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Merle's Door is equal parts humorous and touching as it ... (more)examines the relationship between Kerasote and Merle, a stray dog he adopted. Their 13 years together served as a case study for Kerasote, who chose to treat Merle as a responsible individual rather than a submissive pet. In addition to setting his own eating schedule, Merle refused to hunt birds and, according to Kerasote, possessed a range of emotions and sentiments similar to those of humans.

The discussion is co-sponsored by Rainy Day Books. Kerasote's books will be available. The author will sign copies purchased at the event.

Admission is free. A 6:30 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

The Kansas City Star sports columnist Joe Posnanski gives the 10th in a series of monthly talks by Kansas City newspaper columnists when Second Sundays with KC Columnists convenes on Sunday, May 11, at 2 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Posnanski has been a sports columnist at The Kansas City ... (more)Star since 1996. He has won the Associated Press Sports Editors' Columnist of the Year Award (the nation’s top honor for sports writing) twice. He has been nominated for national awards by the APSE 13 times.

The 2007-08 season of Second Sundays with KC Columnists concludes with Posnanski’s talk, but it will return in August 2008 with a new slate of Kansas City’s favorite columnists.

The series has featured talks on the second Sunday of each month by some of Kansas City’s favorite columnists from The Kansas City Star and The Pitch. Presenters discuss some of their favorite columns, share previously untold stories from their years in the newspaper business, and answer audience questions.

Admission is free. A 1:30 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

Valerie Hemingway, author of Running with the Bulls: My Years with the Hemingways, kicks off the Kansas City Literary Festival with a memoir about her travels with the noted American novelist on Wednesday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Running with the Bulls is considered ... (more)by many to be among the best books ever written about Ernest Hemingway and his family. In 1959, Valerie Hemingway (then Valerie Danby-Smith), an aspiring young Irish writer, became Hemingway's secretary and traveled with him and his wife, Mary, throughout Spain and France. She also lived with the couple during the tumultuous final months in Cuba.

Following Ernest Hemingway's death, Valerie Hemingway worked for the Hemingway Estate, gathering all of the author's papers and organizing them for presentation to the Kennedy Library. She came by the Hemingway name by marrying—and later divorcing—Gregory, Ernest Hemingway's youngest son.

Copies of Running with the Bulls will be available, courtesy of Barnes and Noble on the Plaza, and the author will sign copies purchased during the event.
Admission is free. A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

Local historian Dan Smith, an expert on the Battle of Westport, discusses the battle that would later become known as the "Gettysburg of Missouri" on Thursday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

The Battle of Westport was fought on October 23, 1864. U.S. Army troops under Major ... (more)General Samuel R. Curtis decisively defeated an outnumbered Confederate Army force under Major General Sterling Price. The battle was the turning point of Price’s Missouri Expedition and helped force his army to retreat.

Smith is a battlefield preservationist and president of the Monnett Battle of Westport Fund.

Author Howard Monnett's book, Action Before Westport 1864, will be available.

The program is being held in conjunction with Stand of Colors, a large-scale Civil War re-enactment scheduled for the weekend of May 17-18 in Jerry Smith Park, 139th and Holmes.

Admission is free. A 6 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

Author Joel Goldman will discuss his new mystery, Shake Down, on Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

Goldman is a Kansas City native, and much of the action in Shake Down takes place in the Plaza area. In Shake Down, Goldman tells the story of three people whose lives collide ... (more)over a mass murder at a Kansas City residence that Special Agent Jack Davis has carefully staked out for weeks.

Goldman is the author of four previous novels, all of them featuring trial lawyer Lou Mason. The second book in the Lou Mason series, The Last Witness, was nominated for the Edgar award in 2003. The fourth book, Deadlocked, was nominated for a Shamus award and has been optioned for film.

Copies of Goldman's books will be available courtesy of Rainy Day Books, and the author will sign copies purchased during the event.

Goldman, a fourth generation Kansas Citian, retired from his law practice in 2006.

Admission is free. A 6:30 p.m. reception precedes the event. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

Author Frank Hayde discusses his book, The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob, on Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. In The Mafia and the Machine, Hayde offers a comprehensive look at the history of organized crime in Kansas City. Hayde ... (more)uses court testimony, interviews and police records to tell the stories of Tom Pendergast’s political machine as well as such characters as Johnny Lazia, Charlie Binaggio and Joseph “Scarface” DiGiovanni. Hayde also explains how Kansas City’s most famous politician, Harry S. Truman, rose above the mayhem of organized politics and organized crime to become one of America’s most respected presidents. Admission is free. Call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending or you may RSVP online.

Author Derrick Barnes discusses his series of children’s books, Ruby & the Booker Boys, on Friday, July 11, at 7 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. The first two books in the series – Brand New School, Brave New Ruby and Trivia Queen, Third Grade Supreme – are both scheduled ... (more)for release on July 1.

Ruby & The Booker Boys follows the adventures of Ruby Booker, an intelligent, talented, sassy and super stylish 8-year-old African American girl who will do anything to climb out of the shadows of her three popular big brothers.

The architects who helped shape the Kansas City skyline are the subject of two talks in the They Built Kansas City series on Sunday afternoons in July in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Each program starts at 2 p.m.

The series continues on Sunday, July 13, with a discussion of ... (more)the work of Ernest Olaf Brostrom. Brostrom, a native of Sweden, came to Kansas City in 1907. His designs for the George Rushton Baking Company and the Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories serve as examples of the Prairie Style in commercial and industrial buildings. He is also responsible for the design of the Newbern Apartment Hotel. The program will be presented by Susan Jezak Ford.

The series concludes on Sunday, July 27, with a discussion of the architecture of Edward Beuhler Delk. Delk is best known for his work as one of the architects of The Country Club Plaza and the Starlight Theatre. He was one of the top architects in the Kansas City area during the 1920s and 1930s. The program will be presented by Dr. William Worley.

Funding for this series is provided in part by the Missouri Valley Special Collections with assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Admission is free.

On Thursday, July 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the Truman Forum auditorium at Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., author Pope Brock discusses the exploits of "Dr." John Brinkley, the infamous "Goat-Gland Wizard" of Milford, Kansas, who made a fortune in the 1920s and 30s with his supposed treatment for male impotence ... (more)that relied on the surgical insertion of goat testicles. A 6 p.m. reception precedes Brock's presentation.

Brock's talk is based on his recent book Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, The Man Who Pursued Him, And The Age Of Flimflam, which details the story of Brinkley and his nemesis, Morris Fishbein, the American Medical Association's resident quack-buster during this period.

Brinkley, whom Brock considers America's most brazen con man—and perhaps America's biggest mass murderer as well—parlayed his quackery into wealth and power, becoming the country's richest surgeon and a two-time candidate for governor of Kansas. He also built the world's most powerful radio transmitter just across the Rio Grande to peddle bogus medicines—and provide musical entertainment to millions.

Hailed by The New York Times as "a book so lively that its wild stories are virtually wall to wall," and commended by The Washington Post for providing "a reminder of the high price of gullibility and ignorance," Charlatan will be available for sale, and the author will sign copies purchased during the event.

Pope Brock's presentation is co-sponsored by the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Admission is free. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

The son of a Kentucky dirt farmer, R.A. Long established himself as a captain of industry after moving to Kansas City in 1891. His Long-Bell Lumber Company provided materials for many building projects—including Corinthian Hall, the R.A. Long Building, and Longview Farm—also made possible by his ... (more)wealth. His civic leadership included support for building Liberty Memorial, which now houses the National World War I Museum.

A student of R.A. Long, Tim Sullivan leads this illustrated presentation on the man, his career, and his impact on Kansas City history on Sunday, July 20, at 2 p.m. in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Sullivan is president of the R.A. Long Historical Society, established in 2006.

This presentation is part of the Missouri Valley Speakers Series, a program of the Missouri Valley Special Collections at the Central Library. The series is made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Admission is free. Complete the form below or call 816.701.3407 to indicate your interest in attending.

The architects who helped shape the Kansas City skyline are the subject of two talks in the They Built Kansas City series on Sunday afternoons in July in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. Each program starts at 2 p.m.

The series continues on Sunday, July 13, with a discussion of ... (more)the work of Ernest Olaf Brostrom. Brostrom, a native of Sweden, came to Kansas City in 1907. His designs for the George Rushton Baking Company and the Jensen-Salsbery Laboratories serve as examples of the Prairie Style in commercial and industrial buildings. He is also responsible for the design of the Newbern Apartment Hotel. The program will be presented by Susan Jezak Ford.

The series concludes on Sunday, July 27, with a discussion of the architecture of Edward Beuhler Delk. Delk is best known for his work as one of the architects of The Country Club Plaza and the Starlight Theatre. He was one of the top architects in the Kansas City area during the 1920s and 1930s. The program will be presented by Dr. William Worley.

Funding for this series is provided in part by the Missouri Valley Special Collections with assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Admission is free.

We will meet in the small conference room to discuss Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë for our January meeting. Note that Masterpiece Theatre on KCPT will be showing a two part TV movie of Wuthering Heights on January 18 and 25 which should add another perspective to the book. Great Books KC ... (more)is a book discussion group that has been meeting monthly in the Kansas City area since 2004 to discuss great literature that has stood the test of time. The group is made up of individuals of different ages and sexes who wish to read Great Books of the world, with a particular focus on the Western Tradition. New members or visitors are welcome.

We will meet in the small conference room to discuss The Iliad by Homer for our February meeting. Great Books KC is a book discussion group that has been meeting monthly in the Kansas City area since 2004 to discuss great literature that has stood the test of time. The group is made up of individuals ... (more)of different ages and sexes who wish to read Great Books of the world, with a particular focus on the Western Tradition. New members or visitors are welcome.

Our book for our March meeting is The Book of Job (from the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures). We will discuss it as a work of literature. All those who love books and learning more about them are welcome and encouraged to attend. We will meet in the Small Meeting Room at the Plaza Branch Library, ... (more)4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO.

The book for our April meeting is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. We will meet at the Plaza Branch Library, in the small meeting room, at 7:00 p.m. on April 24, 2009. The library is located at 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO. All those who love books and learning more about them are ... (more)welcome and encouraged to attend.

The author of Old School, Tobias Wolff, discusses our Big Read selection and his literary career - including his new short story fiction compilation Our Story Begins - with Angela Elam of New Letters on the Air, who will record the conversation before a live audience for later broadcast. One of the few ... (more)contemporary writers with an assured spot in literary history, Wolff won the PEN/Faulkner Award as well as three O. Henry Awards. He is also a two-time finalist for the National Book Award. Contact KCPL for more information about attending.

The book for our May meeting is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. We will meet at the Plaza Branch Library, in the small meeting room, at 7:00 p.m. on May 29, 2009. The library is located at 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO. All those who love books and learning more about them are welcome and ... (more)encouraged to attend.

The book for our June meeting is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. We will meet at the Plaza Branch Library, in the small meeting room, at 7:00 p.m. on June 26, 2009. The library is located at 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO. All those who love books and learning more about them are welcome and encouraged ... (more)to attend.

This will be the second of our planned three meetings on the book. Pick your favorite poem and share it with the group.

We will be discussing Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. This will be the third of our planned three meetings on the book. Pick your favorite poem and share it with the group. It may appear that we are stuck in a rut of Whitman's free verse. Well, it's summer time and things move slowly in the summer and ... (more)that includes our group.

This is a classic Japanese short story available on line in English translation. In A Grove is a short story by Japanese writer Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. It first appearing in the January 1922 edition of the Japanese literature monthly Shinchō. Akira Kurosawa used this story as the basis for his ... (more)award-winning movie Rashōmon. "In a Grove" is an early modernist short story consisting of seven varying accounts of the murder of a samurai, Kanazawa no Takehiro, whose corpse has been found in a bamboo forest near Kyoto. Each section simultaneously clarifies and obfuscates what the reader knows about the murder, eventually creating a complex and contradictory vision of events that brings into question humanity's ability or willingness to perceive and transmit objective truth. The story is often praised as being among the greatest in Japanese literature. Those of you who have complained in the past that the books selected by the Great Books group were too long have no excuse for not reading this book. It is about 9 pages long depending on the font size.

What: Shakespeare and a Movie: "King Lear" and "A Thousand Acres" When: October 30, 2009 6:00 PM Where: Kansas City Public Library/Plaza Branch 4801 Main Street Kansas City, MO 64112 816-701-3481 Our gathering this month is to discuss William Shakespeare's "King Lear" and watch the movie "A Thousand ... (more)Acres," which is based upon the play. We will be meeting at 6:00pm--one hour earlier than our usual time--to accommodate the movie. Discussion of the play will take place from 6:00pm-7:00pm, and the movie will run from 7:30pm until about 8:45pm. Please join us for either the play or the movie. We look forward to an enjoyable evening of Shakespeare!