Books Become Art!

Do you like scrapbooking? But are you yearning to move to a more creative level of book-making? Take a look at these fabulous artists and their book-inspired creations:

ALA's e-newsletter, American Libraries Direct, had an interesting link this week to http://thisintothat.com/ the website of Berkleley book-artist Jim Rosenau. He builds bookcases and bookshelves out of actual books. He says that "No books that could change the course of world events are harmed in the production." Here's an example of one of his whimsical creations.

This reminded me of another creative person I'd seen who creates purses out of books. You can commission Caitlin at Rebound Designs (http://www.rebound-designs.com/) to make a fabulous handbag out of your favorite hardcover book. Just what the fashionista-librarian needs! Here's the lovely Jane Eyre model:

Scottish artist Georgia Russell works with a scalpel to transform

books like this Journal into mixed-media creations under acrylic:

Photographers Abelardo Morrell and Cara Barer exhibit haunting black-and-white and color images of contorted and mezmerizing books in odd poses and positions:

Robert The does "book installations" and sculptures like this one called Desert Rose:

Takeshi Ishiguro solves the problem of a book light to read by. Here's his pop-up book that comes with an actual working lamp inside it!

And Danish artist Olafur Eliasson laser cut 454 slices out of this book in a rendering of his house on an 85:1 scale:

If you're inspired by these superb examples of book art, it's just another reason to come to the library's booksale in late October. While others are picking out good things to read, you can be picking up your art supplies!

The Library Will Be Closed for the Labor Day Weekend

The Library will be closed September 1 - 3 in celebration of Labor Day.

A Matter of Perspective

My neighbor and I were walking our dogs around the block this morning when she asked whether I had read The Kite Runner. “No”, I replied, “I don’t like to read depressing books; life can be depressing enough without reading sad books. I am a sucker for a happy ending.” Her take was very different from mine. She likes depressing books, because it makes her life looks wonderful in comparison.

How about you; do you like depressing books or happy ending books, or a bit of both?

What would you call a big pile of books?

We had an interesting conversation around the Circulation Desk the other day. A huge amount of books had been returned all at once, inspiring the question “What is the collective noun for a bunch of books?” A bevy of books was one suggestion; someone else liked a bounty of books. I said since they were all library books, why not a boomerang of books? They go out, they come back again. An Internet search came up with the term “a library of books”. That was just too obvious and not as fun as creating our own collective nouns. I am not even going to discuss what the website said was the collective noun for librarians. It’s just too stereotypical and really gets my bun in a twist!

Dark and steamy

If you like mysteries told from a killer's perspective and don't mind a lot of blood and murder you may want to look into a little known subgenre called "noir fiction". These crime novels often combine obsessive passion with murder and always involve evil, weaving together just enough of the dark side to make one wonder. Most recently I came across an entertaining mystery that included all the noir characteristics, "Bad Thoughts" by Dave Zeltserman. I was so enticed by the tense, fast pace I immediately wanted another like it. Looking up the subject "noir fiction" I found we have at least 13 recent novels that you might also like to try. If you run out of recent material try the old classics gathered together in our short stories section, "Crime novels: American noir of the 1950s" and "Crime novels: American noir of the1930s and 40s".

Save yourself some money

Why spend $6 - $8 or more on a paperback book when you can buy practically new ones here in our "books for sale" corner for just $1? At this price you can afford to get the books sandy on a beach, a little crushed in a suitcase, or even left behind in an airport. New donations arrive every day so we always have an array of materials in almost any genre you'd like. Popular authors like Robert Parker, Tami Hoag, Carly Phillips, Tom Clancy, Dennis Lehane, Jeffrey Deaver, and David Baldacci are right there on the shelves waiting to travel with you. Come on in and stock up!

You can save even more by borrowing paperbacks free from our collection of over 1300 items.
You just won't have the freedom to accidentally damage or leave them behind!

Exciting news! Tuttle's to be a Picture Book!

We're thrilled to report that the 12-generation story of Dover's famous farmstand and country store, Tuttle's Red Barn, will soon (September 22) become a hardcover picture book: "Tuttle's Red Barn: The Story of America's Oldest Family Farm" by Richard Michelson and illustrated by Caldecott Award winner Mary Azarian. Here's the book description from the publisher's catalog:

In 1632, John Tuttle set sail from England to Dover, New Hampshire. There he set up a farm on seven acres of land. From those humble beginnings the Tuttle family story became America’s story. As the Tuttles passed down the farm, along the way they witnessed the settlement and expansion of New England; they fought in the American Revolution; they helped runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad and sold maple syrup to Abraham Lincoln; they bought the first Model T in that Dover; and they transformed the old barn into the thriving country store it is today.
With Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian’s evocative woodcuts and Richard Michelson’s moving prose bringing the Tuttle story to life, readers will be enraptured by the panorama of American history as seen through the eyes of one family.

There will be a book signing party at Tuttle's on September 23. Look for more information at http://www.tuttlesredbarn.net/.

Looking forward to...

Now's the time that publishers release titles of their forthcoming Fall 2007 books. One title I'm especially looking forward to is World Without End by Ken Follett. It's the long-awaited sequel (18 years!) to one of my favorite books, Pillars of the Earth, a 1000-page historical saga which followed the construction of a 12th century cathedral in England. In this follow-up story, it's now the 14th century and we'll follow the fate of the offspring of the "Pillars" cast as they combat the Black Death and War with France. The new story takes place between 1327 and 1361 and promises to be a wonderful medieval epic as only Follett can create! The novel's release date is October 9 so get your name on the holds list. It's sure to be very popular!

America has a new Poet Laureate

Congratulations to Charles Simic, UNH Professor Emeritus who has been chosen as the U.S. Poet Laureate. Mr. Simic replaces another talented New Hampshire poet, Donald Hall. Charles Simic won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for his book of prose poems The World Doesn't End (1989). His Walking the Black Cat, was a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry in 1996. In 2005 he won the Griffin Prize for Selected Poems: 1963-2003. Simic will publish a new book of poetry, That Little Something, in February 2008.

Against Winter

The truth is dark under your eyelids.
What are you going to do about it?
The birds are silent; there's no one to ask.
All day long you'll squint at the gray sky.
When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw.

A meek little lamb you grew your wool
Till they came after you with huge shears.
Flies hovered over open mouth,
Then they, too, flew off like the leaves,
The bare branches reached after them in vain.

Winter coming. Like the last heroic soldier
Of a defeated army, you'll stay at your post,
Head bared to the first snow flake.
Till a neighbor comes to yell at you,
You're crazier than the weather, Charlie.

Charles Simic

What the Rice Salad Revealed

I was at a friend’s house last weekend and she was making a very delicious looking rice salad. I asked her where the recipe was from and when she showed me the cover of the book, I said, “We have that book at the Library”. She looked surprised and said, “You have cookbooks there?”I was stunned. I am not surprised when people don’t know we have museum passes, music CDs, DVDs, downloadable audio books and videotapes; but to think a library wouldn’t have cookbooks? We must be really failing in our publicity efforts. So, in case you were wondering, in addition to all the novels,we have bestsellers, new non-fiction, books on repairing your house, antiques, resumes, woodworking, interior design, all kinds of pets, throwing a family reunion, just about every kind of craft there is, sewing and knitting too, the history of the pencil, and yes, hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks too.

Job Opening: Library Page

The Dover Public Library has an immediate opening for a 14-hour per week Library Page.
Candidates must be 16 years of age and must fill out this application: http://www.ci.dover.nh.us/citymanager/Jobs/New%20Employment%20Application.pdf and submit it ASAP to the City Manager's office at City Hall. Interviews will be scheduled shortly.

Weekly hours rotate among afterschool shifts 2:30-5:30pm, evenings 5-8:30pm, and some Saturday or Sunday hours. Rate of pay is currently $9.17 per hour.

Library pages are responsible for reshelving all of the books, paperbacks, magazines, etc. that get returned to the library each day. Pages also empty the outside bookdrops so must be able to lift and carry heavy bags of books. Pages will be trained in the Dewey Decimal system and must be able to work efficiently, accurately and independently. This position is open until filled.

Finding Books Teens Will Like

If your teen can't find anything he or she is interested in reading, try looking at the Library's wiki, The Rabid Reader. We have posted over 40 reviews written by teens participating in the Teen Summer Reading Program and they will tell you exactly what they think about these books!

If you need something good to read for yourself, take a look around at the other reviews; there are hundreds of book and audio book reviews for adults too.

We would love to hear about what you are reading. Why not post your own review on The Rabid Reader?

Farewell, Tommy Makem

We bid a sad farewell to Tommy Makem, long time Dover resident and acclaimed singer and songwriter.

From his website:

"Tommy Makem is the son and heir of the legendary source singer Sarah Makem. He has also been known for many years as the modern day Bard of Armagh and is regarded around the world as "The Godfather" of Irish music.

Armed with his banjo, tinwhistle, poetry, stagecraft and his magnificent baritone voice, Tommy has been mesmerizing audiences for more than four decades. He has expanded and reshaped the boundaries of Irish culture, and infused a pride in that culture in the Irish, and a quest for knowledge of that culture in countless others."

If you would like to enjoy some of his work, the Library has his book, Tommy Makem’s Secret Ireland and two of his music CDs. In the meantime, you can enjoy one of his performances posted at YouTube.

Are We There Yet?

Summer is a popular time for families to take road trips together. To help pass the time pleasantly, try taking an audio book; it sure beats hearing for the hundredth time, “Are we there yet?” Airborn by Kenneth Oppel has just been released on CD. This book was recommended to me by another librarian who loved it, I loved it, my husband loved it, and my nephew loved it. It is recommended for grades 6 through 10 but seems to appeal to everyone.

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy aboard a luxury airship which travels across the Atlanticus and Pacificus oceans when he helps to rescue a dying sailor on a tattered hot air balloon. The man raves of cloud colored creatures who drift through the skies. When Matt meets the sailor’s bold granddaughter Kate he realizes the creatures are real, not the delusions of a dying man. From there the excitement builds like an Indian Jones adventure. Kate’s voyage to discover the origins of the mysterious creatures is interrupted by a pirate crew that forces the airship to land on a desert island. And the adventures are just beginning…

If you don’t do audio books, make sure to read the book, then share it with a friend.