Townie

Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog, has a new memoir being published today. Townie: a Memoir has been getting great reviews--it is being called powerful and gritty. Mr. Dubus grew up in a seedy, violent and drug infested section of Haverhill, Massachusetts. His Father leaves the family, and his Mother struggles to raise 4 children alone. Each of the Dubus children deal with their situation in their own way, and Andre eventually turns to weightlifting and boxing so that he can be the family protector. It is an amazing story of how he eventually becomes a writer. You can read a review of the book at The New York Times or listen to a great interview with him on the Diane Rehm's Show.

Would You Love to Visit a Palace?

Wouldn't you love to visit a stunning Venetian-style palace with three stories of galleries surrounding a sun- and flower-filled courtyard? Ok, you might have to wait until spring for the sun and flower filled part, but this can all be found at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The Friends of the Library have generously purchased this new museum pass for us, and we want you to take advantage of it. Call us now to book a pass, 516-6050.

Did You Celebrate National Dog Biscuit day?

I am so embarrassed. I let February 23rd slip away without celebrating National Dog Biscuit Day. Thank goodness my dogs haven't figured out how to read a calendar yet. I am going to make it up to them by checking out the chapter on dog biscuits in  Better Food For Dogs by David Baston. He has 12 different recipes so I am sure I can find something I want to make and the dogs want to eat.

Moving Forward

I just finished Alice Hoffman's latest book, a collection of connected short stories called The Red Garden. It has the light touch of a magical element that I have always enjoyed in her other novels. The stories take place in a small town in the Berkshires and take the town from its founding to modern times, with reoccurring themes of eels, bears, a ghost child, collies, and a garden with soil that is blood red. I was totally immersed in the audiobook, read skillfully by Nancy Travis.Then that New England accent would wrench me out of the story. Nancy Travis has lived in Boston and New York and has the New England habit of pronouncing forward as foe-ward. That dropped r kept jarring me out of the story. You would think after all these years surrounded by New Englanders I would be used to it. I can't complain, her slight  New England accent is perfectly appropriate to the story. I just never realized how many times Alice Hoffman uses "forward" in the book.
I recommend The Red Garden, it is wicked awesome.

The Library Newsletters are Going Green!

Did you know that it takes one 15 year old tree to produce half a box of paper? Help us to save paper and sign up now to receive the Library's new eNewsletters, plus other valuable information about events and programs at your favorite library. Follow this link to access the form and you will be on your way!

New Museum Passes Available

Thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Dover Public Library, we now have a 2nd pass to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire! The passes allow admission to the museum for up to four people (children and/or adults) for half price ($4 each). We are excited to be able to offer two of these passes per day to our patrons.

Last year, over 250 DPL families made use of this savings. Next year, we hope to make the number of happy borrowers 500+. Drop by or call the Children's Room @ 516-6052 to reserve your pass.

*There are still passes available for borrowing during February vacation week. Call soon!

More New eBooks Have Been Added to the NH Downloadable Books Site!

New eBooks, check them out at NH Downloadable Books.

Afternoon on the Amazon    Mary Pope Osborne

Alone    Lisa Gardner
Angels Flight    Michael Connelly
Another Thing to Fall    Laura Lippman
By a Spider's Thread    Laura Lippman
Chasing AllieCat    Rebecca Fjelland Davis
Cloaked    Alex Flinn
A Compromised Lady    Elizabeth Rolls
Dead in the Family    Charlaine Harris
Deep-Space Food Fighter    Peter Hannan
Dreaming of You    Lisa Kleypas
The Fates Will Find Their Way    Hannah Pittard
Flyte    Angie Sage, Mark Zug
The Girl in the Green Raincoat    Laura Lippman
Heartwood    Belva Plain
His Lady Mistress    Elizabeth Rolls
I, Alex Cross    James Patterson
If Morning Ever Comes    Anne Tyler
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks    Rebecca Skloot
In a Strange City    Laura Lippman
The Incredible Journey    Sheila Burnford, Carl Burger
The Iron Queen    Julie Kagawa
Judy Moody    Megan McDonald, Peter H. Reynolds
Junie B. Jones and that Meanie Jim's Birthday    Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus
Kabul Beauty School    Deborah Rodriguez, Kristin Ohlson
Kiss an Angel    Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Knight of Desire    Margaret Mallory
Knight of Pleasure    Margaret Mallory
The Last Place    Laura Lippman
Leon and the Spitting Image    Allen Kurzweil
Marrying the Captain    Carla Kelly
The Millionaires    Brad Meltzer
No Surrender    James Sheeran
Not My Daughter    Barbara Delinsky
Pictures of You    Caroline Leavitt
Private    James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
The Red Garden    Alice Hoffman
Rogue    Rachel Vincent
A Scandalous Proposal    Julia Justiss
The Sentry    Robert Crais
Show Time    Sue Stauffacher, Priscilla Lamont
The Spark    Chris Downie
Strategic Moves    Stuart Woods
Three Seconds    Anders Roslund, Börge Hellström
Tick Tock    Dean Koontz
Unbroken    Laura Hillenbrand
Will Grayson, Will Grayson    John Green

Free Programs for School Vacation Week

Next week is school vacation week in Dover, and the library has great programs planned with a "Summer in February" theme. All programs are FREE and open to the public.

• Tues., Feb. 22 @ 10:30am: Indoor Tide Pooling--a special hands-on program presented by the folks at the Seacoast Science Center. Learn how sea sea stars eat, where urchins live, how crabs crawl, why snails have trap doors, and more!
• Wed., Feb. 23 @ 10:30am: Special Drop-in Story Time--Miss Kimberly will present a drop-in story time featuring summertime fun.
• Sat., Feb. 26 @ 2pm: Saturday Matinee showing of Secretariat, rated PG, based on the remarkable true story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner.
• Feb. 22 - 26: Make-it , Take-it Craft--join us to make a rainbow windsock.

Undissing the Undead

I find myself in the awkward position of having to recant a statement I made in last week's blog post concerning vampires. I mentioned that they were "so yesterday." Boy, was I wrong. I just finished reading "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness and my antipathy for the undead is no longer. Matthew Clermont is one hot vampire. His romance with historian and witch Diana Bishop begins in Oxford's Bodleian library and ranges from France to upstate New York. We have forbidden love, lost manuscripts, and secret orders of knights all wrapped up in a juicy novel. And the best part is that it is only volume one of the All Souls trilogy. Can't wait for volume two!

Who Was Your Crush?

This morning the Librarians were all gathered to discuss what we read this weekend. Really, we did! I mentioned I was reading the latest book by Alison Pearson who wrote the wonderful, I Don't Know How She Does It. Oh, one of the other Librarians said, you mean, I Think I Love You, the book about the woman who wins a contest to meet her teenage crush, David Cassidy and doesn't get to meet him until she is in her late 30s? That's the one! That got us all talking about our first crushes, an appropriate subject for Valentine's Day. Some of the long ago crushes included Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, Leif Garrett, David Cassidy, William Shatner, and Barbara Eden. How about you, who was your first crush?

Despicable Me

Join us this Saturday at 2:00pm in the Library Lecture Hall for our free Saturday Matinee: Despicable Me. This is an animated family comedy, and the film is rated PG. Here is the description:

Vying for the title of “World’s Greatest Villain”, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) – along with his hilarious crew of mischievous minions – plots to pull off the craziest crime of the century: steal the moon! But when Gru enlists the help of three little girls, they see something in him nobody else has ever seen: the perfect dad.

I was surprised how touching this movie is in light of it's title. Don't miss it!

How Many Books Could You Read in a Year?

I am a subscriber to the web site Good Reads, which is a social networking site for readers. I was looking at their 2011 Reading Challenge, which is designed to motivate people to read more books during the next year. The average challenge number is 72 books. Now, I was encouraged by this number because I think it is a lot--especially considering all the data that shows that a large part of our population reads absolutely nothing. Now my coworker came along and said 72 books is that it? What do you think? Not enough or way to go!

What Did You Say?

Did you know flowers have a language of their own? During the 19th century, florigraphy, as the language of flowers was known, was extremely popular.The Victorians were skilled as assembling bouquets with all sorts of symbolic meanings. Most of us know that red roses symbolize romantic love, but did you know a full rose over two buds symbolizes secrecy? The lovely hydrangea symbolizes boastfulness, heartlessness and frigidity. Striped tulips declare, "you have beautiful eyes". New Hampshire's state flower is the purple lilac which symbolizes first love. You could assemble a really special bouquet full of hidden meanings for your Valentine by researching "The Secret Language of Flowers" by Shane Connolly.

What Do We Do Now?

Since all things football are over and it looks like all things spring are a way off, we hear people wondering "what do we do now"? From the kinds of material patrons are checking out, here are some suggestions to keep the winter blahs from invading your thoughts:

• People are dreaming of vacations in warm places. Check out our 2011 guidebooks on South Florida, Miami & the Keys, Maui, and the Virgin Islands. If it's more fun in the snow you want we have 2011 travel books on Montreal & Quebec City, the places for winter carnival fun.
• Speaking of the ever-present snow, come look over the books in our 796.9 section on skiing and skating which also include information on cross-country and snowshoe trails.
• But if your thoughts are truly migrating to gardening, opportunities abound to get a head start on spring by forcing bulbs. Books in our 635.944 section will guide you to indoor blooms that will chase away the winter blues.
• If you really just want to enjoy the final winter weeks from your window, come get an armload of materials -- books, dvds, music – on subjects meant for inspiration, movitvation, self-indulgence, relaxation, pleasure, or entertainment. We have it all!

Red Hot Romance at Your Local Library

Ahhh...February. A time for hearts, flowers, chocolate, and thoughts of spring. Well we know that last one isn't going to happen anytime soon. And maybe I won't get my heart set on any of the others either. So what's a gal to do? One suggestion. Slink and sigh your way over to the paperback aisle. We have romance galore. Some of our more recent titles include, The Seduction of his Wife by Tiffany Clare, Kiss at your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe, and How to Marry a Duke by Vicki Dreiling (not a manual ladies, even though there is an upcoming royal wedding). Who could pass up a title like Duchess of Sin by Laurel Mckee or Dark Waters by Alex Prentiss? And what about Must Love Kilts by Alex Mckay? Will she answer the ever present question of what lies underneath them? If you are a more trendy type, let me just say that vampires are so yesterday. Werewolves are where it's at and two of our most recent novels are The Werewolf Upstairs by Ashlyn Chase and A Werewolf in Manhattan by Vicki Lewis Thompson. So we have a pocket sized bit of romance for you whether you are a werewolf lover, a royals stalker, or just your basic girl wants guy. Come for a brief encounter.

Authors @ Night @ DPL

The third lecture in our local author series will be held on Tues., Feb. 8 @ 7:00pm. Stephanie Harzewski will be here to discuss her new book Chicklit and Postfeminism. Where did the term "chick lit" come from? Is chick lit literature? Why is the popularity of Jane Austen, dubbed "the mother of chick lit," at an all-time high? What does chick lit and corollary phenomenon like Sex and the City tell us about contemporary love, sex, and dating? What is "postfeminism" and how does chick lit help us define it? What is the place of chick lit, with its kinship to designer and upscale commodities, in the recession? What is the future of this popular subgenre and its numerous movie adaptations?

Stephanie Harzewski, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the English department at the University of New Hampshire. A Dover, NH resident, she specializes in contemporary Anglophone fiction and women's narrative prose. She is considered an expert on the chick lit genre and has been interviewed on the topic for publications like Poets and Writers and The Chicago Tribune.

Is April Really the Cruelest Month?

T.S. Eliot says that April is the cruelest month, but I am beginning to think that February is the month that deserves that title. I was in a meeting today when I heard a crash that actually shook this big old brick building. I wondered if a plow had hit the Library. When the meeting adjourned we saw that an avalanche of ice and snow from the roof had thundered down onto the skylights and broken two of them. Spring won't come soon enough for me!