Adults

The Summer Reading Programs may be over, but at the Troy Public Library, the Adult Reading Program continues all year around! Keep reading and logging books each month to be eligible for prize drawings. Go to the Library's Adult Reading Program page to register, or to log in and record your books. Share your rating and review of the books you read, and see what others are reading.

Need some reading suggestions? Check out our monthly updated book, audiobook and dvd lists here. You can subscribe to receive the updated lists by email or RSS feed each month.

Did you know that you can learn to write poetry at the Troy Public Library?

Every Tuesday, from 12:30 to 2:30, the Poetry Writing Workshop, hosted for the past 13 years by Mary Ann Wehler, focuses on students' poetry. The group critiques each others' works, commenting on strengths and offering suggestions, with an eye toward helping the writers revise their own poems. A new writing prompt is offered each week.

This workshop is an enjoyable community for anyone interested in writing in a safe environment. Lessons are taken from Essential Pleasures of Poetry, by Robert Pinsky, and Portable Poetry Workshop, by Jack Myers.

On Thursdays, from 1 to 3 pm, the Troy Public Library Poetry Reading Society, also hosted by Mary Ann Wehler, reads and discusses such poets as Neruda, Li Young Lee, Alberto Rios, Ruth Stone, Anna Swir, Merwin, Mark Doty, Dorianne Laux, Gregory Orr, C. K. Williams, and Chris Rhein.

This year, the Society will be reading Against Which, by Ross Gay, and Contemporary American Poetry Anthology, edited by A. Poulin and Michael Waters. The books are provided.

Register for either or both programs by emailing mawehler@wideopenwest.com or phone 248 879 3013.

Voter Guides for the August 3, 2010, Primary Election are available on the League of Women Voters of Michigan web site at http://www.lwvmi.org/. The Guides cover the races for Governor, US Representative, State Senator and State Representative.

The Guides provide non-partisan information about running candidates. Each candidate is given an opportunity to provide biographical information and to answer a number of questions on issues important to the office being sought. Responses are included as submitted and have not been edited, except for space.

For voters in Oakland County, the LWV Oakland Area has Voter Guides for races happening in Oakland County. There are also several candidate forums scheduled for July. 

Local voters can use Publius to get a sample ballot with integrated candidate information. Voters can also use the Secretary of State's Voter Information Center to get a sample ballot.

The Troy Public Library has a growing collection of Blu-Ray DVD films. We are pleased to make these available. Remember that Blu-Ray discs will only work with Blu-Ray DVD players. While the traditional DVDs will play on regular or Blu-Ray machines, the reverse is not true. 

The Blu-Ray collection is easily identified by the call number, which always starts with BD (for Blu-Ray Disc). They are shelved in a separate section from the other DVDs. Newer "Feature" Blu-Ray titles are $2 for seven days and older movies are free - exactly the same loan protocols as the regular DVDs.

If you do not own a Blu-Ray player, you may wish to consider getting one. Prices are reasonable; picture quality and extra features are exceptional. The results are remarkable when paired with a high definition TV using HDMI cables. Picture and sound quality are only as good as the weakest link in your system. The best of components will disappoint when connected by lower quality cables. Even regular DVDs appear much better when played on these units.

When searching for movies in our catalog, the Blu-Ray version will always be on a separate record from the standard DVD. Do pay attention when searching or placing holds to insure that you request titles with the correct format (BD or DVD) for your equipment. Click on "Where is It?" for call numbers and availability.