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On The Shelf
Library

Looking for a good book? Librarians at the Oakdale Library are always happy to offer reading suggestions. And now, a good book is easier to find than ever. New books at the Oakdale Library will be featured on the first Wednesday of each month in the Oakdale Leader. Librarians will provide information about books for children and adults, both fiction and non-fiction.

To reserve a book featured in New Books at the Library, visit www.stanislauslibrary.org or call 847-4204. A library card is required to reserve a book and it only takes a few minutes to apply. Best of all, library cards are free. New customers can apply online or visit the library at 151 So. First Ave. Watch the Oakdale Leader each month for new selections available at the Oakdale Library.

 

 

What Is Visible: A Novel

By KIMBERLY ELKINS

 

Presents a fictionalized account of the life and challenges of Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind woman to learn language, and those who helped her, including the founder of the Perkins Institute, with whom she was in love.

This book intertwines the unique inner struggles and the far-reaching results of her life within the social, educational, and philosophical culture of her time. She was considered quite famous and this book shows her connection to and influence on others of the nineteenth century, including Helen Keller and Charles Dickens. It is interesting that Laura Bridgman herself has remained somewhat unknown, while those touched by her experience have retained prominence.

 

 

Never A Dull Moment: 1971—The Year That Rock Exploded

By DAVID HEPWORTH

 

A rollicking look at 1971 – the busiest, most innovative and resonant year of the 70s, defined by the musical arrival of such stars as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Joni Mitchell.

On New Year’s Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era.

The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean’s “American Pie,” The Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar,” The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” Marvin Gaye’s “What's Going On,” and more.

David Hepworth, an ardent music fan and well regarded critic, was 21 in ‘71, the same age as many of the legendary artists who arrived on the scene. Taking us on a tour of the major moments, the events and songs of this remarkable year, he shows how musicians came together to form the perfect storm of rock and roll greatness, starting a musical era that would last longer than anyone predicted. Those who joined bands to escape things that lasted found themselves in a new age, its colossal start being part of the genre’s staying power.

Never a Dull Moment is more than a love song to the music of 1971. It’s also an homage to the things that inspired art and artists alike. From Soul Train to The Godfather, hot pants to table tennis, Hepworth explores both the music and its landscapes, culminating in an epic story of rock and roll’s best year.