Unburied Treasure

Thanks to Dr. Charles D. Cohen, author of The Seuss, the Whole Seuss, and Nothing but the Seuss and collector of all things related to Dr. Seuss, a "buried treasure" has been unearthed for all to enjoy.

From 1948-1959, Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) published a series of short stories that appeared in magazines and mostly forgotten when the magazines were tossed. Charles found references to these stories and began a mission to find them. After traveling to libraries to research old magazine collections (yay for libraries), he found them and was able to track down and purchase the original magazines through the Internet (yay for the Internet).

The result of his efforts is the new book, The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss---a collection of seven rarely seen stories written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss.

My favorite story in the book is "Tadd and Todd", a story about identical twins and the need for an individual as well as a shared identity. I will be sharing this with my identical twin grandsons!

Fanatic Readers

There was a great article yesterday on the CNN web site titled "How to Get Your Kid to be a Fanatic Reader". The article was written by James Patterson and it stressed how important it is for parents to be involved in their kids reading by both helping them to find books they will love and by being reading role models. Mr. Patterson goes on to describe how he and his wife helped their son find books that he gobbled up and his reading skills improved dramatically. "Here's a simple but powerful truth that many parents and schools don't act on: The more kids read, the better readers they become." Of course, if your father is James Patterson he probably knows a lot about books and authors and can easily find titles that will interest you. However, most parents probably aren't as aware of current trends in fiction for kids. As luck would have it I happen to know a few people who are up on it--yes I am talking about the librarians at your local library. Please give us an excuse to talk about good books and reading!

Downton Abbey

If you fell in love with the  fabulous Masterpiece Theater series, Downton Abbey, like I did, you will be delighted to know that the Library has purchased the DVDs of  the historical drama. The series takes place before World War I in England. Downton Abbey is the splendid country estate of the Crawley family. The stories revolve around their lives as well as the turbulent lives of the servants below stairs. The indomitable Maggie Smith enlivens the cast with withering zingers and crisp comments. After being startled by a swivel chair she makes a comment about new-fangled gadgets. The lawyer she is visiting explains that actually Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair quite awhile ago. Not one to be rebuked Dame Smith responds, "Can't one day go by without a fight with an American?"

The cast is stellar, the clothes magnificent, the story-line is involving, and the dialogue is lovely. Don't miss Downton Abbey.

A Must See

We now have 2 passes to The Seacoast Science Center at Odiorne State Park which means 2 families a day can enjoy this local treasure. Our Membership Pass allows 2 adults and children FREE admission to the Center. "The Seacoast Science Center is a must see for anyone wishing to discover the natural treasures and rich history of coastal New Hampshire. The Center's dramatic seaside setting, interpretive exhibits, and commitment to creating a memorable, personalized experience for each visitor sets it apart from other museums, aquariums and attractions." Still lots of wonderful weather to be had so that you could enjoy their outside resources as well as inside! Give us a call today, at 516-6052, to reserve a pass.

Steig Who?

If you've read the "Girl Who" trilogy by Steig Larsson, try some of these other great Scandinavian mystery writers.

Denmark:
Adler-olsen, Jussi
Blaedel, Sara
Hoeg, Peter
Kaaberbøl, Lene and Agnete Friis

Finland:
Thompson, James

Iceland:
Bates, Quentin
Indridason, Arnaldur
Sigurdardóttir, Yrsa

Norway:
Dahl, Kjell Ola
Enger, Thomas
Fossum, Karin
Holt, Anne
Nesbø, Jo

Sweden:
Alvtegen, Karin
Dahl, Arne
Edwardson, Åke
Ekman, Kerstin
Eriksson, Kjell
Jungstedt, Mari
Kepler, Lars
Läckberg, Camilla
Lapidus, Jens
Larson, Åsa
Larsson, Steig
Lindqvist, John Ajvide
Mankell, Henning
Markland, Liza
Nesser, Håkan
Roslund, Ander and Börge Hellström
Segerberg, Ebba
Sjöwall, Maj and Per Wahlöö
Theorin, Johan
Tursten, Helene

Smart is Beautiful

One of our sharp eyed Librarians spotted this unintended irony in a Candies ad. The caption reads "Candie's Girls Know Smart Is Beautiful". Too bad no one noticed the book cover says "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin.
Perhaps it is a parody?

Bumble-ardy

Want to feel like a kid again? Take a look at Maurice Sendak's latest picture book Bumble-ardy. This book evolved from a segment that aired on Sesame Street in the early 1970s. The story is about "a mischievous pig who has reached the age of nine without ever having had a birthday party. But all that changes when Bumble throws a party for himself and invites all his friends, leading to a wild masquerade that quickly gets out of hand." We just have to see if the "wild masquerade" can compete with the "wild rumpus"!

Need to Test Yourself?

Did you know you can practice taking tests like the SAT, Praxis, and Real Estate Brokers exam from home? Simply log onto the Library’s web page and click on Online Resources. Next, choose Learning Express and you will be prompted to enter your 14 digit library card number and to choose a password. Select your test from the 300 tests available and begin practicing. You can also explore the Job Search and Workplace Skills section for help on interviewing and writing resumes.

Every Thing On It

Do you have fond memories of reading Shel Silverstein books such as Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic? Today a new title is being released, Every Thing On It, which has 130 previously unpublished poems. This is the second book to be published since Mr. Silverstein's death in 1999. Did you know that Mr. Silverstein was also a songwriter and wrote the song A Boy Named Sue which was performed by Johnny Cash? This song is quite different from his children's poetry. :)

Autumn Just Around the Corner

I noticed a few leaves starting to change this weekend. It reminded me of one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films, The Trouble With Harry. This charming movie features a very young Shirley MacLaine, John Forsyth, and a great deal of stunning New England fall foliage. The black comedy revolves around the trouble with Harry, which is that he is dead. Half the town seems to think they are responsible for his death; they take turns burying, digging up, and moving poor Harry. There is much rapid-fire, funny dialog, especially between MacLaine and Jerry Mathers, who you may remember as The Beaver. This film is sure to put you in the mood to enjoy the snap in the air and blazing colors of Fall. Check it out!

Finding Something Good to Read is Easier than Ever

Novelist is a database that helps you find new books to read. You can search by authors you like, genres, or a book you loved. You can access it at the Library, or at home by clicking on the Online Resource link on the DPL web page. We have had this database for many years and all the librarians love it. Now Novelist is talking to our catalog so when you find a book you are interested in, you can click on the "check the library catalog" link and find out whether we own the book, whether the book is in, or put a reserve on it. Try it out, your next great book is waiting for you to discover it!

Free Movies

We have a great line up of movies planned for our Saturday Matinees in September and October. These movies are shown at 2:00pm in the Library Lecture Hall, and are free and open to the public!

• Sat, Sept. 17--Mars Needs Moms, rated PG


• Sat., Sept. 24--Marley & Me: The Puppy Years, rated PG


• Sat., Oct. 1--Thor, rated PG13


• Sat., Oct. 8--African Cats, rated G


• Sat., Oct. 15--Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer


• Sat., Oct. 22--Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, rated PG13

More New eBooks

Many more new eBooks have been added to NH Downloadable Books. Take a look!

1968	Mark Kurlansky
3rd Degree	James Patterson, Andrew Gross
Allies	Christie Golden
Almost Perfect	Brian Katcher
The American Girl	Monika Fagerholm, Katarina Tucker
The Angel in My Arms	Stefanie Sloane
Anna and the French Kiss	Stephanie Perkins
Ashtown Burials	N. D. Wilson
Bearers of the Black Staff	Terry Brooks
Becoming Marie Antoinette	Juliet Grey
Black Ice	Anne Stuart
Blood Promise	Richelle Mead
Bloodlines	Richelle Mead
Bloodshot	Cherie Priest
Blue Smoke	Nora Roberts
The Bride	Julie Garwood
The Buddha in the Attic	Julie Otsuka
Burning Down the Spouse	Dakota Cassidy
Buttercream Bump Off	Jenn McKinlay
A Chesapeake Shores Christmas	Sherryl Woods
Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness	Alexandra Fuller
Cod	Mark Kurlansky
Crave	J. R. Ward
Die for You	Lisa Unger
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight	Alexandra Fuller
Dragonfly in Amber	Diana Gabaldon
Falling in Love with English Boys	Melissa Jensen
Flirting with Disaster	Sherryl Woods
The Food of a Younger Land	Mark Kurlansky
Frostbite	Richelle Mead
Girls in White Dresses	Jennifer Close
Happy Birthday	Danielle Steel
The Help	Kathryn Stockett
I Don't Know How She Does It	Allison Pearson
The Ideal Man	Julie Garwood
In Malice, Quite Close	Brandi Lynn Ryder
The Invisible Bridge	Julie Orringer
The Keeper of Lost Causes	Jussi Adler-Olsen
Knit One, Kill Two	Maggie Sefton
The Language of Flowers	Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Last Coyote	Michael Connelly
Last Sacrifice	Richelle Mead
The Ledge	Jim Davidson, Kevin Vaughan
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie	Jennifer Ashley
Mama Rides Shotgun	Deborah Sharp
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron	Jennifer Ashley
Matched	Ally Condie
The Measure of the Magic	Terry Brooks
Next to Love	Ellen Feldman
Ready Player One	Ernest Cline
Reckless	Anne Stuart
Rotters	Daniel Kraus
The Secret	Julie Garwood
The Secret Mistress	Mary Balogh
The Secret to Seduction	Julie Anne Long
Shadow Kiss	Richelle Mead
Shelter	Harlan Coben
Spirit Bound	Richelle Mead
Victory and Honor	W.E.B. Griffin, William E. Butterworth IV
Waking Up in Charleston	Sherryl Woods
Ways to Be Wicked	Julie Anne Long
Would-Be Witch	Kimberly Frost
You Are So Undead to Me	Stacey Jay
1105 Yakima Street	Debbie Macomber
The 5th Horseman	James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
Ambitious	Monica McKayhan
Another Kind of Dead	Kelly Meding
The Ask and the Answer	Patrick Ness
Back Spin	Harlan Coben
Backseat Saints	Joshilyn Jackson
Becoming Marie Antoinette	Juliet Grey
Blood Bound	Rachel Vincent
Blood Rules	Christine Cody
Bloodlands	Christine Cody
Bloodlines	Richelle Mead
Bloodroot	Bill Loehfelm
Blue Smoke	Nora Roberts
A Bone to Pick	Charlaine Harris
Breathless	Anne Stuart
The Buddha in the Attic	Julie Otsuka
By Grace Possessed	Jennifer Blake
Cherished	Kim Cash Tate
A Chesapeake Shores Christmas	Sherryl Woods
Club Dead	Charlaine Harris
Covet	J. R. Ward
Craving the Highlander's Touch	Michelle Willingham
Dead Angler	Victoria Houston
Death in Show	Judi McCoy
An Echo in the Bone	Diana Gabaldon
The Fiery Cross	Diana Gabaldon
Getting Old is a Disaster	Rita Lakin
Good Girls Don't	Victoria Dahl
Greywalker	Kat Richardson
Heir of the Dog	Judi McCoy
The Help	Kathryn Stockett
Home Improvement	Charlaine Harris, Toni L. P Kelner
Hounding the Pavement	Judi McCoy
An Ice Cold Grave	Charlaine Harris
In Bed with a Highlander	Maya Banks
The Invisible Bridge	Julie Orringer
Julia London Historical Romance 2-Book Bundle	Julia London
Juliet Immortal	Stacey Jay
The Julius House	Charlaine Harris
The Keeper of Lost Causes	Jussi Adler-Olsen
Kind of Blue	Miles Corwin
The King's Courtesan	Judith James
Kiss of Death	Rachel Caine
Knee High by the 4th of July	Jess Lourey
The Knife of Never Letting Go	Patrick Ness
The Language of Flowers	Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Last Sacrifice	Richelle Mead
Lord and Lady Spy	Shana Galen
Love Come to Me	Lisa Kleypas
Mama Does Time	Deborah Sharp
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron	Jennifer Ashley
Mice	Gordon Reece
Miracle Beach	Erin Celello
Mistress by Marriage	Maggie Robinson
Monsters of Men	Patrick Ness
Murder Past Due	Miranda James
Neighborhood Watch	Cammie McGovern
Nightshade	Andrea Cremer
No Proper Lady	Isabel Cooper
No Time For Goodbye	Linwood Barclay
A Parfait Murder	Wendy Lyn Watson
Pleasure Unbound	Larissa Ione
Plugged	Eoin Colfer
Poltergeist	Kat Richardson
The Postmortal	Drew Magary
Raising Stony Mayhall	Daryl Gregory
Ready Player One	Ernest Cline
Redeeming the Rogue	Donna MacMeans
The School of Essential Ingredients	Erica Bauermeister
Second Son	Lee Child
The Servants of Twilight	Dean Koontz
Seven Years to Sin	Sylvia Day
Shameless	Anne Stuart
Silent Enemy	Thomas W. Young
Slow Love	Dominique Browning
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion	Charlaine Harris
Spiral	Paul McEuen
The Square Root of Murder	Ada Madison
Storm's Heart	Thea Harrison
The Stranger You Seek	Amanda Kyle Williams
Succubus Blues	Richelle Mead
Succubus On Top	Richelle Mead
Succubus Revealed	Richelle Mead
Succubus Shadows	Richelle Mead
The Third Victim	Lisa Gardner
Treasuring Emma	Kathleen Fuller
The Twelfth Enchantment	David Liss
The Vow	Juliana Garnett
Vowed in Shadows	Jessa Slade
Voyager	Diana Gabaldon
Waking Up in Charleston	Sherryl Woods
We the Animals	Justin Torres
The Wedding	Julie Garwood
The Wedding Affair	Leigh Michaels
What Is Left the Daughter	Howard Norman
When the Wind Blows	James Patterson
Where Demons Fear to Tread	Stephanie Chong
A Whisper of Peace	Kim Vogel Sawyer
White Heat	M. J. McGrath
Working Stiff	Annelise Ryan
You Dropped a Blonde on Me	Dakota Cassidy

2011-2012 Cultural Series

Next Tues., Sept. 20 the Friends of the Library 2011-2012 Cultural Series begins. First up is The Negro Baseball League with Joseph Caliro which is both an exhibit and a lecture.The exhibit contains over 300 pieces of memorabilia including 49 autographed baseballs from the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Among the signed baseballs are 9 Hall of Fame inductees, and the only 3 women to ever play professional baseball. Baseball cards displayed will include the Ted Williams salute the negro league and cards from paintings by Marc Charello, illustrator for DC Comics. The exhibit will open at 6 pm and will be followed at 7pm by a presentation on the History of the Negro League. Visit our website to see a full line up of the Cultural Series events.

The TPSG (Three Pines Support Group) is here for you!

A few months back I read an article about fans of the movie Avatar forming support groups to help them deal with the fact that Pandora was not a real place and that they could not go there and live among the  Na‘vi.  I was tempted to make fun of this (I hated that movie) until I had a conversation with another librarian about our beloved Three Pines, the tiny (and fictional) French Canadian hamlet in the Louise Penny mystery series. Penny’s latest novel,  A Trick of the Light, came out August 30^th and two days later Anne and I had already read it and were in a post Three Pines funk.  We longed for Three Pines.  We talked everyday about how we would spend the morning in Clara’s garden followed by a five course lunch at Olivier’s Bistro with dessert and coffee in front of the fire.  Then we would wander across the bridge over the Bella Bella River and sit on the common with Ruth, the local poet/curmudgeon, and let her hurl insults at us.  We would end our day by sinking into the fluffy white down comforters at Gabri’s  B&B and dream of murder and mayhem and charming Inspector Gamache. With the exception of the ridiculously high homicide rate Three Pines seems like the most idyllic place to live, great food, quirky smart companions, charming vistas in every direction, and most importantly a bit of trouble to keep it all interesting.  Even though we don’t have a proper support group for Louise Penny groupies we can offer up the follow suggestion to hold you over until your next trip to Three Pines; try the three Inspector Bruno mysteries by Martin Walker.  They are set in the Perigord region of Southern France and even though it is not exactly the same it is equally charming, with much talk of food, a cast whimsical locals, and of course a grisly murder or two. 

BW

Fall Story Time Registration

Registration for our 6 pre-school story times begins on Monday, September 12. Story Times begin the week of September 19 and continue for 5 weeks.

Sign-up begins at 9:00a.m. (in person) for all groups--
Monday l:30p.m., Monday Bedtime (7:00p.m.) and Tuesday 9:30a.m. groups for 3-6 year-olds and Thursday and Friday (9:30 a.m.) toddler groups for children ages 21-36 months.
Phone call registration begins at 9:15a.m.

In addition to our "registered groups", we will be offering a "drop-in" story time (for all ages). This story time is open to all (visitors and non-resident card holders included)! Children and their caregivers are welcome to drop-in for any or all of these story times on Wednesdays @ 9:30 a.m.

For more information, pick up one of our 2011-2012 story time brochures, visit our website @ http://library.dover.nh.gov/, or call the Children's Room (516-6052).

Servapalooza

Things are a bit chaotic at the library today--there are dozens of Timberland volunteers painting and landscaping the library and the McConnell Center. If you come in today please use the front door, unless you need the elevator. We apologize for the inconveniences, but it will be worth it when we have nice fresh paint and beautifully landscaped lawns. A big thank you to all the volunteers!

Fall Hours

We are now officially on our fall schedule which means that we will be open this coming Saturday from 9 to 5. Also, we will resume our Saturday Matinees in the lecture hall at 2:00pm--first movie up is Rio--rated PG. See you Saturday!

Does Your Book Need a Soundtrack?

The New York Times reports that a company called Booktrack is planning on releasing eBooks with soundtracks that play throughout the book. "Much of the music — about nine hours’ worth for the typical novel — is instrumental or ambient noise. But during livelier passages, a reader may hear the patter of footsteps, a booming gong, a crackling fire or the tick of a grandfather clock." 

I think I would be terribly distracted by all the noise while I am trying to read. Soundtracks do really effect the atmosphere of a scene in a movie but if not done properly it becomes jarring. Adding sound effects would definitely distract me. What do you think, would you like a sound track with your book?