LAPL Blog
Keith Chaffee, Librarian, Collection Development

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HOWdunit: The Locked Room Mystery
A man is alone in a room, locked so that no one else can enter. When the door is opened, he is found dead, murdered in a way that would have required the presence of a killer—he’s been shot, perhaps, or stabbed.
Dancing With the Orchestra
Every now and then, a friend who knows that I enjoy classical music asks me where they should start. There’s so much of it, they say, that it’s overwhelming and intimidating. And it’s true; there are hundreds of years of symphonies and operas and string quartets to choose from.
Music Memories: Happy Birthday, Jimmy Buffett!
On December 25, 1946, Jimmy Buffett was born. Buffett’s distinctive Caribbean-flavored blend of rock and country has made him a popular recording and touring artist for more than 40 years.
A Week to Remember: Rod Serling
On December 25, 1924, Rod Serling was born. Serling was a television writer, one of the major figures in early television.
Music Memories: Christina Aguilera
On December 18, 1980, Christina Aguilera was born. She’s progressed from a child star on TV to a successful pop diva.
A Week to Remember: Philip K. Dick
On December 16, 1928, Philip K. Dick was born. Dick was a science fiction writer whose work centered on the unreliability of reality and of personal identity; his stories of paranoia, shifting personas, and an unstable world made him one of the genre’s most popular writers of the 1960s and 1970s.
Music Memories: Hector Berlioz
On December 11, 1803, Hector Berlioz was born. Berlioz was not an enormously productive composer, but those of his works that are still played are among the most popular in the classical repertoire.
A Week to Remember: Mark Kurlansky and "A History of..."
On December 7, 1948, Mark Kurlansky was born. Mark Kurlansky is a journalist and historian, and the author of several best-selling nonfiction books.
Music Memories: Dave Brubeck
On December 6, 1920, Dave Brubeck was born. For more than sixty years, Brubeck was one of our most popular and acclaimed jazz pianists, particularly noted for his experiments with unusual rhythms.
A Week to Remember: Rex Stout
On December 1, 1886, Rex Stout was born. Stout was a novelist who began his career writing for the pulps in the 1910s before creating the character for which he is remembered, orchid-loving detective Nero Wolfe.