by Library Admin | 7 Apr 2024 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read
In May, Cricklereaders are reading A Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss.
Award-winning American novelist Nicole Krauss first captivated readers with her groundbreaking debut novel Man Walks into a Room, a novel in which Krauss explores what it is to lose one’s identity and what it is to discover what makes us human.
Samson Greene has been missing for eight days when he is discovered wandering through the Nevada desert, ‘ragged as a crow’ and with no idea who he is. He is rushed to hospital where doctors save his life, but all his memories after the age of twelve have been permanently lost. Now, as he looks around the beautiful apartment he apparently shares with his wife and which is filed with all the souvenirs of a life well lived, Samson feels nothing more than a vague admiration.
In her first novel Nicole Krauss tells the story of a man suddenly liberated from the life he has made, disconnected from the people who have defined him. Withdrawing from a wife he has no memory of loving, Samson plunges weightless into the future. But when he agrees to participate in a revolutionary experiment, what he experiences a revelation of what it means to be human.
‘Krauss celebrates the anything-but-simple art of human connection’ San Francisco Chronicle
‘You’ll savour the last page – and be hungry for future work from this talented author’ The Washington Post Book World
Nicole Krauss is an American bestselling author who has received international critical acclaim for her first three novels: Great House (shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2011), The History of Love (Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2006 and winner of the 2006 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger) and Man Walks into a Room all of which are available in Penguin paperback.
The group will meet on Sunday 19 May at 1030 in the library.
by Library Admin | 10 Jan 2024 | FRONT PAGE NEWS, library event
At Cricklewood Library, we are currently seeking individuals who are passionate about our library and wish to contribute to its continuous growth and success. We believe that libraries are integral parts of any community, not only as a source of knowledge and information but also as a gathering place for people of all ages. We invite you to become a part of our mission to ensure that Cricklewood Library continues to serve its community effectively.
Trustee Open Evening on 15 February
We understand that the role of a trustee may sound intimidating. To help you get a clearer idea of what it entails, we have arranged a Trustee Open Evening on the 15th of February. Scheduled from 6-8pm, this is a perfect opportunity for you to learn more about the responsibilities and rewards of becoming a trustee. You’ll get a chance to meet our current team and ask any questions you may have.
Skills and Experience Needed
We value diversity and believe that everyone has something unique to bring to the table. However, we are particularly interested in people who have skills and experience in the following areas:
- Legal
- Facilities Management
- Volunteer Management
- Small Business
- Community Engagement
If you have experience in any of these areas, or even if you’re just passionate about our library and its role in the community, we would love to hear from you.
If you’re interested in becoming a trustee, or simply want to find out more about what it means to volunteer, we invite you to book a space for our Trustee Open Evening. You can do so by visiting the following link:
We look forward to welcoming you to our library and celebrating the important role that trustees play in its success. Remember, your contribution can make a huge difference to the library and the community it serves.
by Admin | 20 Nov 2023 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read
New book is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Waterstones said:
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.
But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with – of all things – her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later, Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (‘combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride’) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Next meeting Sunday 7 January at 1030. Please note there is now a waiting list for membership of this group.
by Admin | 14 Nov 2023 | FRONT PAGE NEWS
Magic Show with Ian Saville.
For more than 30 years, Ian Saville has been presenting his socialistist Magic and ventriloquism.
Whereas David Copperfield is content with little tricks like making the Statue of Liberty disappear, Ian Saville aims at the much more ambitious goal of making International Capitalism and exploitation disappear. True, he hasn’t quite succeeded, but he keeps on trying.
This is a funny, magical, thought-provoking and topical celebration of Socialism, which will keep you well awake, even if you’re not all that woke.
Suitable for adults, and children aged 8+.
by Admin | 14 Nov 2023 | FRONT PAGE NEWS
The Brent Jazz Orchestra return for their last appearance at the library this year. They’re rounding off the year with a set full of fantastic jazz standards and we hope there will be dancing!
This month they will have acclaimed singer Paul Rhodes with them. AS SEEN ON TV.
As usual, doors open 1900 for a 1930 start, and there will be pizza.
by Admin | 11 Sep 2023 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read, FRONT PAGE NEWS
The group is reading Death and the Penguin by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov.
Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. He longs to see his work published, yet the subjects of his obituaries continue to cling to life. But when he opens the newspaper to see his work in print for the first time, his pride swiftly turns to terror. He and Misha have been drawn into a trap from which there appears to be no escape.
Join the group on Sunday 15 October at the library, 1030-1130. Sign up in advance so we know to expect you!
by Admin | 1 Sep 2023 | FRONT PAGE NEWS
What is the Design Code?
The draft Staples Corner Design Code sets out the council’s expectations for high quality design and placeshaping within and around the Staples Corner Growth Area, as defined in the Brent Local Plan 2019-2041.
Why is it needed?
Recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) have sought to give design coding a greater role in the planning system. Published in 2021, the National Model Design Code provides detailed guidance on the production of design codes, guides and policies to promote successful design.
Alongside the emerging Staples Corner Masterplan, the Design Code expands on Policy BEGA2A of the Brent Local Plan to underpin decision-making for council officers and give developers, occupants and adjacent communities greater certainty about what may be acceptable when seeking planning permission.
How is the Design Code structured?
There are seven sections in this draft Design Code:
- Section 1 provides an introduction setting out what a design code is, who the design code is for, where it applies, and how it is structured and to be used.
- Section 2 sets out the existing context of Staples Corner.
- Section 3 sets out the vision for Staples Corner as developed collaboratively between the council and a group of local stakeholders.
- Section 4 describes the coding plan and how the design code relates to the emerging masterplan.
- Sections 5, 6 and 7 form the three parts of the design code addressing each of the following: area-wide design codes, street-focussed design codes, and place-focussed design codes.
Consultation details
The consultation will run for a period of eight weeks from 24th August to 19th October 2023. Documents will be made available at Brent Council libraries.
Please submit a response via this portal. Alternatively, responses can be sent to planningstrategy@brent.gov.uk or to: John Stiles, Principal Urban Design Officer, Brent Council, Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ.
Please note that the council will not register anonymous responses. You should provide your name and, if relevant, the name of the organisation that you are working for, and that which you may be representing.
Area of coverage
The London Borough of Brent, specifically the Staples Corner Growth Area and some areas on its periphery.
Data protection
When reporting the consultation responses, organisation names will be referenced by the council. However, no individual’s name or personal details of respondents will be made publicly available. Please can you indicate with your response whether you wish to be informed by the council of whether this document is adopted.
Please also indicate if you would like to be informed of other planning policy consultations by having your details put on our planning policy consultation database. This information will only be used in relation to consultations on the council’s planning and associated documents. Unless you indicate that you want to be put on this database, your personal details will only be kept until the council makes a decision on whether to proceed with the adoption of the Design Code or not and has subsequently issued the appropriate notifications. Please see our privacy policy for more details.
To support participation in the consultation process, the council has arranged two in-person drop-in sessions at the library on the following dates:
- Saturday 30th September from 12pm-3pm
- Tuesday 10th October from 6:30-8:30pm
by Admin | 23 Jul 2023 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read, FRONT PAGE NEWS
September’s book is Stella Maris, the sequel to July’s The Passenger, by Cormac McCarthy. The two books are the last works by McCarthy before his death aged 89 in June this year.
1972, BLACK RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN: Alicia Western, twenty years old, with forty thousand dollars in a plastic bag, admits herself to the hospital. A doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of Chicago, Alicia has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and she does not want to talk about her brother, Bobby. Instead, she contemplates the nature of madness, the human insistence on one common experience of the world; she recalls a childhood where, by the age of seven, her own grandmother feared for her; she surveys the intersection of physics and philosophy; and she introduces her cohorts, her chimeras, the hallucinations that only she can see. All the while, she grieves for Bobby, not quite dead, not quite hers. Told entirely through the transcripts of Alicia’s psychiatric sessions, Stella Maris is a searching, rigorous, intellectually challenging coda to The Passenger, a philosophical inquiry that questions our notions of God, truth, and existence.
by Admin | 23 Jul 2023 | FRONT PAGE NEWS, volunteering
We’ve had to think about reducing our opening hours over the summer holidays to compensate for so many volunteers being away. Until the first week in September, we will now open on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only. Our Thursday morning story time will resume in September, as will our Friday afternoon 7-11 year old book group, and we’ll be back to normal opening hours at that point. Watch out for signs at the library to keep you updated, or sign up to our newsletter for more details.
If you’d like to sign up as a volunteer, to help us stay open more hours, we’d love to have you. Please see our volunteer page for more details.
by Admin | 11 Jun 2023 | Cricklereaders, Cricklereaders Read
The group has chosen Tennessee-born author Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger for their July meeting.
A sunken jet, a missing body, and a salvage diver entering a conspiracy beyond all understanding. The Passenger is a dark, hallucinogenic novel from Cormac McCarthy, the legendary author of Blood Meridian, No Country for Old Men and The Road.
‘What a glorious sunset song . . . It’s rich and it’s strange, mercurial and melancholic’ – Guardian
1980, Mississippi. It is three in the morning when Bobby Western zips the jacket of his wet suit and plunges into the darkness of the ocean. His dive light illuminates a sunken jet, nine bodies still buckled in their seats, hair floating, eyes devoid of speculation. Missing from the crash site are the pilot’s flight bag, the plane’s black box – and the tenth passenger.
Now a collateral witness to this disappearance, Bobby is discouraged from speaking of what he has seen. He is a man haunted: by the ghost of his father, inventor of the bomb that melted glass and flesh in Hiroshima, and by his sister, the love and ruin of his soul.
Traversing the American South, from the bars of New Orleans to an abandoned oil rig off the Florida coast, The Passenger is a breathtaking novel of morality and science, the legacy of sin, and the madness that is human consciousness.
‘The Passenger shows that McCarthy belongs in the company of Melville and Dostoevsky, writers the world will never cease to need’ – New Statesman
