Bayou Bytes Blog

Below is a summary of our discussion on our November “Book of the Month” South of Broad by Pat Conroy . South of Broad follows the lives of a small group of eccentric friends from Charleston, South Carolina – spanning from the 1960s to the 1980s. Readers noted that the book’s setup takes a painstakingly long time. Conroy spends a great deal of time detailing and describing Charleston before giving readers any actual plot – leading to some readers’ not finishing the novel at all. The majority of those who were able to finish shared the feeling that the book had plenty of interesting characters and developments – including one final twist that surprised everyone. However, the plots were poorly intertwined and usually lacked solid resolutions. Some members of the group suggested that the book may have worked better as separate novels. Find a copy of the novel at your local branch or in our Digital Collection ! Have you already read South of Broad , or some other Pat Conroy wo...

Hi everyone! We recently did a Christmas craft program at Central library and here is a tutorial on one of the Christmas trees we displayed. It's easy and you can use any colors that match your decor! Supplies you need: 10 inch Styrofoam cone 2 inch circle punch Cardstock Gluegun Craft knife or pencil to curl your circles The only thing you need that isn't pictured is the Styrofoam cone, which you can purchase at a craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Let's get started! Step one: Cut out a bunch of circles with your circle punch. I ended up using 3 or 4 12x12 cardstock pages--I'm sorry I can't remember exactly! I used 3 different patterns in the same color scheme, but you could do a solid tree and it would look pretty as well. Step two: Remove your blade from your craft knife. Step three: Curl your circles around your craft knife. They should end up looking something like this! ...

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg is a light little tale that extols the virtues of small town communities. Healing is a central theme of this book as the main character, Oswald Campbell must move south to a warmer climate to extend his life, which is threatened by emphasema. But it is not only physical ailments that take their toll on Mr. Campbell. An orphan named after a can of soup, he has no one in his life except for a kind ex-wife whom he does not wish to bother. He lives off of government pension and only gets out of his tiny apartment to attend AA meetings. Moving to Lost River, Oswald  is given the opportunity to be a part of a close community of people which heals his ailments and mends his soul. Fannie Flagg, with the help of a little redbird named Jack, tells a tale that will uplift your spirit and make you believe in the power of community to overcome whatever is thrown their way. Check out this book from your local library branch here!

Recent winner of the National Book Award, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward details twelve days in the life of a Mississippi family caught up in the devastating path of Hurricane Katrina. Read more about this novel: National Book Foundation Website Interview with Jesmyn Ward in The Guardian http://www.jesmimi.blogspot.com/ Check out this novel from your library