Books on My iPod

A couple of the librarians are giving themselves a Christmas gift of the latest iPod Touch so there has been a lot of excited chatter at the desk lately about the cool things this new toy can do. In addition to the obvious ability to play music, the Touch has wi-fi capability so you can connect to the Library catalog and look library materials up while you are browsing the stacks! I plan on downloading audio books through the library on to mine. I found out you can download Kindle e-books onto the iPod Touch, even more exciting was hearing that there is a website that allows you to download free e-books. Manybooks.Net allows you to choose from over 25,000 public domain titles. I can't wait to start reading and listening to books on my iPod!

Our Very Own Best of 2009 List

Each year we compile the Librarians' Choice; a list of the Dover Public Library staff's favorite books and DVDs. We had so many favorites this year that we could barely squeeze them onto one bookmark. We hope you will enjoy them as much as we did!

Librarians’ Choice 2009

Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan C. Bradley
Honolulu by Alan Brennert
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Lovers by John Connelly
Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
South of Broad by Pat Conroy
Bodies Left Behind by Jeffrey Deaver
Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron
One Second After by William Forstchen
The Burying Place by Brian Freeman
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner
The Night Villa by Carol Goodman
East of the Sun by Julia Gregson
The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah
The Séance by John Harwood
The Risk of Darkness by Susan Hill
Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz
Garlands of Gold by Rosalind Laker
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
A Proper Education for Girls by Elaine di Rollo
Old City Hall by Robert Rotenberg
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Rough Country by John Sandford
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Cooking Dirty by Jason Sheehan
Grace Hammer by Sara Stockbridge
The Leper by Steve Thayer
Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker
Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
The Second Time around by Marcia Willett

My Life in Ruins DVD
Changeling DVD
Michael Clayton DVD
Appaloosa DVD
State of Play DVD

Children’s Books
Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem
The Blue Shoe: a tale of thievery, villainy, sorcery and shoes by Rod Townley
My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald
The Roar by Emma Clayton
Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise
Family Reminders by Julie Danneberg
Flight of the Phoenix by R.L. LaFevers
Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara

Did You Spend Too Much Money Over the Holidays?

Do you want to make a New Year's resolution to budget better for next holiday season, and throughout the year? If so, join us on Monday, January 4th at 6:00pm in the Library Lecture Hall for the first in a series of lectures titled Money Matters. The first lecture will cover Budgeting After the Holidays, and will be presented by Ellen Rondina, Extension Educator with UNH Cooperative Extension. This series is brought to you by the UNH Cooperative Extension, the Cash Campaign of Southeast NH, and the Dover Public Library. This is a great way to start the new year off right!

Carpeting Again! And New Storytime Sessions!

Please bear with us once more as our library carpeting project starts up again after a holiday respite! Due to some adjustments that need to be made to the carpeting tiles installed in the Children's Room, the Children's Room will need to be closed on January 4 & 5 while the re-work is done. We will still have Story Hour Sign-Ups as scheduled on Monday, Janaury 4 at 9am for preschool story times and at 6pm for toddler story times. If you're a Dover resident and would like to register your 2-5 year old child, here's the scoop:

Six story time sessions (3 for preschoolers and 3 for toddlers) will begin the week of January 11 and run through through February 12. Enrollment is limited to Dover children.
Sign-up begins at 9am for the Monday (1:30pm), Monday Bedtime (7pm), and Tuesday (9:30am) groups for 3-6 year olds. Phone call registration (516-6052) begins at 9:15am. These 45-minute preschool programs (attended by the children only) include stories, finger plays, songs and puppets. A themed craft or film is also offered during each weekly session. Sign-up begins at 6pm on January 4 for the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Toddler groups (9:30am) for 2 year-olds. Phone call registration (516-6052) begins at 6:15pm. Toddler programs (attended by the child plus their parent or care-giver) include stories, finger plays and songs specially selected for the developmental level of 2 year-olds. Although the Children’s Room will be closed on January 4th & 5th for carpeting adjustments, Story Time sign-ups will still take place in person and by phone. For more information, please call the Children’s Room.

Back to the carpet...the rest of the library (stacks, mezzanine, staircase and addition) will be completed during the week of January 11, 2010. We're really looking forward to having it all done!

Happy Holidays to All

Our holidays hours are as follows:

Thursday, Dec. 24: 9am - 12pm
Friday & Saturday, Dec. 25 & 26: Closed
Thursday, Dec. 31: 9am - 4pm
Friday, Jan. 1: Closed

We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

The Cliquetionary is Here, The Cliquetionary is Here!

The Clique series by Lisi Harrison is a teen book series that is similar to Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar (yes the one that the TV show is based on). Well, we just received the book Cliquetionary: the Wit and Wisdom of the Clique, and let me tell you it is amusing. It actually has one of those word wheels on the cover and helps you understand what sayings like EW (eternal wannabe) and GLU (girls like us) mean. The word that always comes to mind when I see this series is SNARKY. I can understand why the series is so popular because it is pretty funny and clever, but I do hope most things in the books are fiction and there aren't really girls in the world who say things like "No ones loves inner beauty more than unattractive wannabes"--one can only hope.

Ladybug Picture Book Award Results

During the month of November, 20,441 New Hampshire children from preschoolers to those in third grade voted for their favorite book from the 2009 list of Ladybug Picture Book Award nominees.

And the winner is...Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox (receiving 3,467votes!).

This award, designed to promote early literacy and honor the best in recent children's picture books, is a project of the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library. Click here to see the complete voting results.

Nearly Half a Century at the Top of Her Game

Driving into work this morning I heard P.D. James being interviewed on NPR--I couldn't believe that her first detective novel, Cover Her Face, came out in 1962! I am a big fan of her Adam Dalgliesh series, and so it was interesting to hear her talk about the character, her take on what makes a good mystery novel, and authors who have influenced her. She believes the the "golden age" of detective fiction was in the time between the World Wars. She mentions four authors, who wrote during this "golden age", who she believes helped to "[lift] a rather despised genre into a form which could be taken seriously": Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. She has just released a book Talking About Detective Fiction that examines the craft of the genre from top to bottom. If you have any interest in writing detective fiction this book would definitely be worth a look.

City Hall Burns Down

Actually, I should be more specific since three of Dover's City Halls have burned down. I am referring to the City Hall Opera House which burned in 1933. The Opera House was a grand structure which could seat 1800 people. It had a floor capable of raising and lowering, three tiered balconies with brass and velvet trim, and a chandelier with 95 electric light bulbs.

One of the exciting finds in the photo album that was donated to us this month was several never before seen photos of the 1933 fire. Take a look.

New Use for Your iPhone

My niece told me she scanned her library card barcode into her iPhone and presents her iPhone at the Library to check out books. She doesn't always have her library card with her but she always has that phone on her! I thought that was a pretty creative use of an iPhone, and pretty cool that her Library's barcode scanners could read the image on her iPhone.
Has anyone else heard of this being done?

An Author Does Good

Stephen King, more famous for terrifying readers, has also become known for his willingness to donate the money he earned through writing horror to good works. This Christmas he and his wife, writer Tabitha King, are making sure their local National Guardsmen can spend the holidays with their families.

As the Bangor Daily News reports,

"Stephen and Tabitha King had no problem donating money to ensure that the 150 members of Bravo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Unit could come home for the holidays.

They did have a slight problem with the requested amount, though.

“Steve is such a numbers person,” said Julie Eugley, one of the author’s personal assistants. “When we were approached for $13,000, he thought that number was a little unlucky. He didn’t want any bad whammies associated with these troops.”

Way to go, Mr. and Mrs. King.

Books Into Movies

Lately, there have been a slew of new movies that are based on books. Here are some recent or upcoming releases and the books from which they’ve been adapted:

Ø Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin is now the film "Invictus" with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
Ø The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis is the Sandra Bullock dramatization of right tackle Michael Oher’s football career and upbringing.
Ø Up in the Air is a 2001 novel by Walter Kirn and opening soon is the highly-touted film of the same name starring George Clooney.
Ø Alice Seybold’s haunting novel, The Lovely Bones, is due out mid-January and will star Saoirse Ronan as the 14-year old murder victim.
Ø Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s picture book, Where the Wild Things Are, was released in theatres to critical acclaim in October.
Ø Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs is a hilarious and popular children’s book by Judi Barrett and now an entertaining new animated film.
Ø The Fantastic Mr. Fox, also featuring George Clooney (as a voice), is getting rave reviews as an animated movie based on the Roald Dahl children’s favorite.
Ø Push by Sapphire has been reinvented as the movie "Precious", a 4-star film starring talented newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and Mariah Carey as you’ve never seen her.
Ø And watch for Dennis Lehane’s Boston-based Shutter Island, debuting mid-February starring Leo DiCaprio.

But most important, NEVER judge a book by its movie! (The book is always better!!)

Last Minute Holiday Shopping

In my frantic bid to finish my holiday shopping, I was browsing online for bookplates. You know those things that you can put on the inside front cover of books that say "This book belongs to___". You know, the things that the librarian in your life would get you as a gift. Well, as a kid I thought they were pretty cool so there are several little kids I know getting these as a gift. However, I didn't like any of the ones I saw available, but I did happen upon a very, very cool web site called My Home Library. I am so excited about this because they give you free use of their bookplates (except for commercial use), and they have lots and lots of them to choose from. Some are from top children's illustrators like Helen Oxenbury! I think this is such a great present because it will only cost the price of some stickers and your time, but you can choose different ones for each person depending on their taste--pretty special. Take a look; you won't be sorry.

You Learn Something New Every Day

Today I was ask if we had a braille collection of books for kids. Unfortunately we don't, but I said I would look into what the State of New Hampshire library has. The State Library has a lot of resources that are available to New Hampshire residents such as their Talking Books Program, and yes their braille collection. Follow the link to the Talking Books Program and click on the Kids Catalog to search for braille or audio titles just for kids! I was very excited to learn about this service (nerdy librarian) and just wanted to pass it on.

Kill A Watt Energy Detectors

The Dover Public Library now has 6 Kill A Watt Energy Detectors available for check out. It is very easy to use--just plug it in at your home or office, and find out exactly how much electricity all your appliances and electronic devices are using. It's the first step to lower electric bills (who could complain about that) and to a smaller carbon footprint! The Detectors were made available by nhsaves, and you can visit their web site at http://www.nhsaves.com/.

Funny NYT Article: 10 Strangest Book Titles

Follow this link http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2009/12/the-10-stangest-books-in-the-english-language.html to read Daniel Finkelstein's "Comment Central" column in the New York Times about ABE Books and their weekly choice of the "Weird Book of the Week." Finkelstein adds his own suggestions for the top 10 strangest book titles including:

• The Bible Cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps
• How You Can Bowl Better Using Self-Hypnosis

The book covers pictured on the site are also hilarious. Be sure to look at the cover of "Dead Pet": this has to be a joke!

Judging A Book

We all know that you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover. However, the cover does play an important role in catching your attention. The cover of this book annoys me every time I see it because it is so unappealing. Is this a cover that would make you want to pick it up and see what it is about? I think not. I was pleased to see the paperback version is a little more inspired. I have to give kudos to the designer of the book cover below. It catches my eye consistently. Can you figure out what is so odd about this face? I felt compelled to analyze the image until I did.

That Silly Tiger

I brought home yet another bagful of picture books for my son last night--thank goodness for the library! When we read The Tiger Who Came for Tea by Judith Kerr I was shocked at his reaction--uncontrollable falling down gasping for air giggling. It is rather cute when the tiger drinks directly from the teapot, but I didn't expect that kind of reaction. It was extremely satisfying to see him enjoying a book so much, but I was a bit jealous because I couldn't remember when I've had that kind of strong reaction to a book. David Sedaris does make me laugh out loud (though I have never fallen over), and on the flip-side Book Thief by Markus Zusak made me cry like a baby, but it just doesn't seem the same. Am I in a book rut? What books have you reacted strongly to? I'd love to hear from you.

Hidden Talents

I bet you didn't know that the Circulation Librarians are break-dancing fools. If you haven't caught one of their impromptu performances at the Circulation Desk, take a look here for some Christmas cheer.

Damned by Faint Praise

One of my co-workers made me laugh with her latest book review. We were talking about The Magicians by Lev Grossman, which was a huge literary hit this summer but met with mixed reviews here at the DPL. Her assessment was brief, "I didn't hate it."

Don't you just want to run out and read it now?

You Could Win a Twilight Basket

Enter the raffle to win this lovely gold gift basket with all four books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Just fill out a slip at the Circulation Desk and drop it in the box by the basket. Its free and you could make someone very happy with this gift!

Ho, Ho, Ho

Join us this Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2:00pm for a showing of the movie Four Christmases. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn as an upscale, happily unmarried San Francisco couple who find themselves socked in by fog on Christmas morning, their exotic vacation plans morph into the family-centric holiday they had, until now, gleefully avoided. Out of obligation--and unable to escape--they trudge to not one, not two, but four relative-choked festivities, increasingly mortified to find childhood fears raised, adolescent wounds reopened... and their very future together uncertain.

All of our movies are free and open to the public. Click here to view a complete list of movies we will be showing.

Friends of the Library Christmas Booksale!

The Friends of the Dover Public Library will be holding a one-week Christmas Book and Gift Sale from December 14-18 adjacent to the library’s Main Desk.
A large selection of holiday-themed books will be available, priced from $1.00 to $3.00, and includes Christmas stories, decorating ideas and cookbooks. A varied assortment of Christmas music and carols on CD will also be for sale at just $1.00 each.
In addition, sturdy canvas “Dover Public Library” bookbags, Dover notecards, and 1888 reprint Dover maps are available and would make great gifts or stocking stuffers.
The Friends of the Dover Public Library always welcome new members to join their organization ($10 annually; or $7 for seniors). The group’s next meeting is Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 1pm in the Library Lecture Hall.

Cormac McCarthy's Typewriter Up for Auction

I just read in a New York Times article that Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera typewriter, the one that he wrote all of his writings to date on, is being auctioned off. "I HAVE TYPED ON THIS TYPEWRITER EVERY BOOK I HAVE WRITTEN INCLUDING THREE NOT YET PUBLISHED" Apparently after 46 years of use it is "showing signs of age." Cheap thing! So if you are still looking for that perfect holiday present for the literary type on your list look no further. The Christie's auction will take place this Friday, and they believe it will fetch between $15,000 and $20,000. Have no fear though Mr. McCarthy has a practically brand new Olivetti Lettera typewriter, and so the writing will continue.

Last Chance to Check Out Children's Books

The Children's Room is preparing to close for their new carpeting. There are still some Children's materials available for check out today. Bluebeary looks very sad that he won't be having any visitors tomorrow but the Children's librarians are hoping they will be able to open again Thursday afternoon. Please call before you come visit if you are planning on coming in Thursday!

Happy Thanksgiving

The Library will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. The Library will be open from 9 - 5 on Saturday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Multi-tasking

I was at the grocery store Sunday afternoon and was amused to see several children being wheeled through the aisles in those super long grocery carts busily reading books and even doing homework! I wish I could read a book while grocery shopping. Anybody else spotted kids reading while moms shop?

National Book Award Winners Announced!

National Book Foundation recently announced the 2009 National Book Award recipients and the winners are...

Fiction:

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Non-fiction:

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles

Poetry:
Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop

Young People's Literature:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

What's Happening?

Skitter & Skatter, the library gerbils, are wondering what is going on in the Children's Room. The Folk & Fairy Tale books that surround their home are all boxed up and stacked around them. They seem to be thinking, "Are we next?". Well, they don't have to worry. Their home is on a built-in shelf that does not need to be moved for the new carpets to be installed. They can sit back, relax and have a front row seat to the action.
The Children's Room will be closed for a couple of days during the week of November 30th while the movers and carpet installers are here.

Remember, you can help us out by borrowing 10 books (or more) before the move (the less we have to pack, the better!).

I am NOT making this up!

The library staff has been working extremely hard this week, staying ahead of the furniture movers who are staying ahead of the carpet installers. If you hadn't heard, we are getting 15,000 square feet of new carpeting! Our staff's job is to remove all the books from the bookshelves, relocate them to another area, then move the items back to those bookshelves when the new carpet is in place. It's been a lot of lifting, shifting, and shelving! So, as I was inspecting the newly laid carpet in the Lecture Hall, a glint of color caught my eye. There was a small book tucked behind one of the baseboards, right in the area where we'd just concluded the annual booksale: the children's book section, to be precise. I pulled the book out from behind the heating unit. And this "Golden Book" is what I found. Look at the title! Isn't that so very timely and extremely weird at the same time? Is it a sign?

Strange Goings On in the Library

I heard some peculiar noises upstairs after the carpeting installers left. When I went to investigate I could not believe my eyes. This is what happens when Librarians are so deliriously happy to get new carpeting- they make carpet angels.

Don't Miss Our Free Saturday Matinee!

This Saturday, Nov. 21st @ 2:00pm we will be showing Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure in the Lecture Hall. This movie is rated G so it is perfect for the entire family. As always this is free and open to the public. Here is the description of the movie:

Tinker Bell's greatest adventure yet takes place in Autumn, as the fairies are on the mainland changing the colors of the leaves, tending to pumpkin patches, and helping geese fly south for the winter. The rare Blue Moon will rise, and when its light passes through the magical Fall Scepter that Tinker Bell has been summoned to create, Pixie Hollow's supply of pixie dust will be restored. But when Tinker Bell accidentally puts all of Pixie Hollow in jeopardy, she must venture out across the sea on a secret quest to set things right.

Upstairs Carpeting Update

Before

During

After

Fiction Twice-Removed

What do you call a popular new novel written by a fictional TV character? Heat Wave by "Richard Castle"! Although this literary device has been tried in the past by "Jessica Fletcher" and "Columbo" as "authors" of detective novels, it's never achieved the success of the new "Nikki Heat" series, based on ABC's "Castle" TV show. The premise of the television series is that author "Richard Castle", played by actor Nathan Filion, is writing a new mystery series based on the NYPD cases of "Det. Kate Beckett" and that's why he trails her around on murder investigations. "Heat Wave" has been incorporated into the show's plots this season, culminating in a book launch party on the October 19 episode. Actor Nathan Filion recently autographed 500 books as "Richard Castle" at a Borders in Northridge, CA and the novel, called "witty" and "fast-paced" by reviewers, is on several bestseller lists. Fiction begets fiction begets fiction!

Amazon's Hot Seller---the Kindle

Publishers Weekly (10/26/09) reports that the Kindle is now Amazon's best-selling item, and that sales at Amazon rose 28% (to $5.45 billion) in their third quarter. Amazon is optimistic about the 4th quarter of 2009 as well and sees no signs of sales slowing down.

Sometime in November, Amazon is due to release free downloads of "Kindle for PC", an e-reading app that will allow consumers to download Kindle e-books to a Windows-based PC and to read them on the PC. While the app will allow Kindle owners to read their previously purchased Kindle titles on their PC, it will also allow anyone with a PC to buy and download Kindle e-books directly to their PCs.

The Carpeting Project Has Commenced

Installers are hard at work tearing up the old carpet, revealing the hidden wood floors. I have been told that long ago when the Dover High School was next door, they used to hold classes in the Library and it sounded like a herd of elephants when all those teenage feet walked across wood floors!

We Need You! Please borrow 10 children's books!

The Dover Public Library is getting new carpeting! All the contents of the Children’s Room need to be packed and moved out for a few days, including about 20,000 books. We are asking our patrons to lend a hand by borrowing at least 10 children’s books before the move.
Library staff are asking for approximately 2,000 cardholders to visit the Children’s Room and checkout ten (or more if you wish!) books before Thanksgiving. If this can happen, we won’t have to pack, box and store all the books! In return, the books checked out will not be due for one month and there will be no fines on any Children’s Room items becoming overdue in December.
The Dover Public Library has over 26,000 cardholders; so if just 10% of our borrowers can help us out by taking 10 books home, we’ll have no books to pack, no boxes to lift, and can provide you with an ample supply of children’s books for your family to read at leisure. Please call the Children’s Room, 516-6052, for more information, and thanks for your help!

Things Librarians Think Are Cool

We were so taken with these floating bookshelves that we had to share them with you. They would not be practical, nor would they fit in at our Carnegie library; but floating bookshelves, how cool is that?
We have no affiliation with the company that makes these shelves, and this is not an endorsement of the product, we just thought it was a neat idea and you might enjoy seeing it.

Saturday Matinee

Join us this Saturday, November 14th at 2:00pm in the Library Lecture Hall for the movie UP. This is an animated comedy that is rated PG. Here is a description of the movie: Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Junior Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.

This event is free and open to the public.

Where Have All the Books gone?

The big move to prepare for carpeting has commenced. You can still help us by checking out lots of materials and keeping them at your home until we are finished. To make this easier for you we are changing due dates; DVDs now go out for 14 days starting this week. Items in the Children's Room can be checked out for 30 days. No overdue fines will be charged for items from the adult collection from November 16 through November 28. No fines will be charged on Children's materials due in the month of December.

The Library Will Be Closed November 11th

The Library Will Be Closed Wednesday, November 11th, in honor of Veterans Day.

Acupuncture Lecture at the Library

Join us on Tues., Nov. 17, 2009 at 7:00pm in the Library Lecture Hall for a lecture on Acupuncture in the United States with Alice Meattey. The lecture will cover a brief general history of acupuncture and the history, in particular, in the United States and in New Hampshire. She will explain various theories of how acupuncture works and will demonstrate the actual needling process. A sharp question and answer will follow!

Alice Meattey is an acupuncturist, nationally certified and licensed in both New Hampshire and Maine. She is a graduate of The City College of New York and a 1991 graduate of the New England School of Acupuncture in Newton, Massachusetts. Alice was the chairperson of a group that worked to license acupuncturists in New Hampshire, and she has been a member of the New Hampshire Board of Acupuncture Licensing since 1997. She lives in Dover with her long-haired dachshund, Rudy.

Attention Dog-Lovers

Three really enjoyable books have come out lately that are sure to appeal to dog lovers. Dean Koontz has written about his beloved Trixie, a Golden Retriever who retired from being an service dog and became the light of his life. Trixie's antics in Big Little Life: a memoir of a joyful dog are sure to win you over.

Fans of James Herriot may enjoy Bruce Coston's Ask the Animals. The book covers his years at veterinary school and cases from his practices in Pennsylvania and Virginia. The story of dogs, cats, and their owners are amusing and touching.

Dogtown, a no kill shelter in Utah famous enough to have its own popular television show on the National Geographic channel, now also has a book written about it. Dogtown: tales of rescue, rehabilitation and redemption by Stefan Bechtel highlights some of the desperate, touching cases that have come through their doors. Victims of pet hoarders, war, Katrina, and cruelty all find a loving home at Dogtown. Knightly, the grieving Weimaraner who lost his home and his family when his elderly owners couldn't care for him anymore is a story that you won't soon forget.

I enjoyed all three books, but especially Big Little Life. Trixie is a memorable character, and the depth of the love she and Dean shared is evident in every word. He also captures the charming goofiness that highlights life in any household that has a Golden Retriever in it. I highly recommend listening to this on CD, Dean Koontz narrates which adds an extra dimension.

HELP US PACK!

We need to clear the Children's Room for new carpeting.

BORROW AS MUCH CHILDREN'S MATERIAL AS YOU LIKE BETWEEN NOW AND THANKSGIVING AND IT WON'T BE DUE FOR A MONTH!

BONUS: no fines on children's materials that become overdue in December.

Rob Pattinson on a Stick

It was late Tuesday night and we were busy closing the Library when I noticed a man lurking in the Teen Loft. It gave me quite a turn because I didn't think anyone was in the mezzanine. When I looked more closely I realized it was Rob Pattinson's sweet face staring back at me, not moving. For those of you without teenage girls in the family, and untouched by the Twilight novels hysteria, I will explain that Rob Pattinson is the actor who plays Edward Cullen in Twilight.

The next day I asked our Teen Librarian about it and she explained one of the teen magazines had published a Rob Pattinson poster and suggested using it for a Halloween mask. She craftily put Rob on a stick and placed him in a book in the Teen Loft. Since then he has mysteriously been moving all around the Teen Loft. She never knows where she will find him next.

Best Books of 2009

We haven't even finished 2009, and already the best books lists are coming out. Publishers Weekly and Amazon have both released their lists. There is only one book they chose in common, Stitches by David Small. The Library will not be releasing our Librarians' Choice list until January so you will have to wait for that one! What do you think of their choices?

Looking for Some Good Historical Fiction?

Look no farther than Grace Hammer: A Novel of the Victorian Underworld by Sara Stockbridge. I swept away by the story of Grace, a skillful thief, who is supporting her four young children quite nicely by thieving in the Whitechapel area of London. This novel has frequently been compared to Charles Dickens' books. There are similarities; a large cast of quirky characters with unusual names, and the squalor of London is vivid. "She is a sly piece of work, Mrs. Mirabel Trotter, like a great flabby toad lurking under a dank rock, staring out from the gloom at her dinner."

Grace's easy life is threatened by the hulking, violent Mr. Blunt, from whom she had stolen a large ruby necklace at the beginning of her career. Will she be betrayed or saved by her vast circle of friends and acquaintances amongst the prostitutes, thieves, fences, and drunkards that inhabit the squalor of London in 1888. The many twists and turns through atmospheric 19th century England make it a very interesting journey to find the answer.

WE'RE MOVING....

...furniture, books, computers!

The library is getting new carpeting beginning mid-November and we need you to help us clear out.

This project may possibly last through mid-December and will inevitably cause some interruptions to our services and some inconvenience to you when some sections of the library are closed. Therefore we will be extending our borrowing periods for various materials in the library as they become inaccessible: we want you to hold on to them as long as possible so we don't have to pack and move them. So that you won't incur fines during the disruptions we will also charge no fines for items from the adult collections from November 16 -28, and no fines for items from the children's section for the month of December. While the Children's Room is being carpeted it will be closed for a few days.

Do You Dare?

Halloween has come early to the Library....

Remembering Wax Candy

Another candy themed post in honor of Halloween, from Bill Bryson's memorable and amusing "Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid". Bill reminisces about the candies he loved as a child in the 1950s.

"Perhaps nothing says more about the modest range of pleasures of the age than that the most popular candies of my childhood were made of wax. You could choose among wax teeth, wax pop bottles, wax barrels, and wax skulls, each filled with a small amount of colored liquid that tasted very much like a small dose of cough syrup. You swallowed this with interest if not exactly gratification then chewed the wax for the next ten or eleven hours. Now you might think there is something wrong with your concept of pleasure when you find yourself paying real money to chew colorless wax, and you would be right of course. But we did it and enjoyed it because we knew no better. and there was, it must be said, something good, something healthily restrained, about eating a product that had neither flavor or nutritive value."