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Monday Morning Roundup


by Stephen Becker 18 Apr 2011 7:57 AM

Today in the roundup: Sunday is a lonely day for book lovers and the weekend that was in music.
CTA TBD

LOCKING UP THE BOOKS: The weather was so perfect yesterday that if you weren’t outside, you were missing out. But that’s not the case every Sunday (hello, August) and soon we’ll be looking for indoor pursuits for the end of the weekend. If you’re a reader, don’t plan on wasting away the day at a library. Only two Dallas Public Library branches are open on Sunday, and as dallasnews.com reports, the ones that are open do a brisk business.

FRET PLAY: Did you make it out to the Dallas International Guitar Festival over the weekend? If not, Observer photographer Danny Hurley put together a slide show of all that noodling.

THE NEW FEST ON THE BLOCK: It was actually a pretty big weekend for music. In addition to the guitar festival, Kenny Chesney turned Cowboys Stadium back into a music venue and a diverse lineup took the stage at the Fort Worth Main St. Arts Festival. With all that competition, you wouldn’t think it would be a good time to launch a new music event. But organizers of the West Berry Block Party in Fort Worth don’t think that way. And as dfw.com reports, the event went so smoothly that it may be here to stay.

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About Stephen Becker

Stephen Becker produces the shows Think and Anything You Ever Wanted to Know for KERA. As part of the Art&Seek team, Stephen produces radio and digital stories, along with the podcast "The Big Screen," with Chris Vognar, movie critic of The Dallas Morning News. View more about Stephen Becker.

COMMENTS

  • JasonM

    When I first moved here, I was eager to check out the wonders of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. It has a truly great collection. I stopped by on a Sunday. As far as I could tell, of the 150 patrons, I was the only one who wasn’t either homeless or drug-addicted. The pungent aroma of body odor filled every available space. The sounds of heartbreaking, barely-cogent conversations murmured across the halls. I got some reading done. I haven’t been back. If that’s your scene, there’s no better place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

    Then I went to the local branch. Functionally, it’s mainly a source for free internet and low-brow entertainment DVDs and trashy books, that happens to stock some literature on the bookshelves. Mothers brought their kids to run wild, making a racket in the stacks. I haven’t been back.

    Then I discovered the online book-request system. I can check out all the books I want, request them, and read them at home, while interacting as little as possible with the wonderful people of Dallas. The system works great. For me, the most useful function of the library is a book retrieval and drop-off point. Your mileage may vary.