Holy Moley!

I have had unwanted visitors in my neighborhood this spring. I love the return of the peepers and the song birds, and resignedly accept that spring in New Hampshire also means the return of the Black fly. However, this year spring also brought mysterious tunnels and piles of dirt all over my pristine lawn. Well, it’s as pristine as you can hope for with two large dogs frolicking on it. The dogs were not the culprits of lawn destruction this time. I was whining to one of the neighbors about it when they mentioned that they were having troubles with moles too. Another neighbor farther down said he had tunnels all over his yard and he had never had problems before. I established an informal poll and found every neighbor I talked to was having mole problems. I was duly appointed to find a solution since I work in the library. Sure enough, the Library collections came up with some helpful books.

Bugs, Slugs & Other Thugs by Rhonda Hart recommended:
Whirligigs and whistling soda bottles
Placing used kitty litter in the tunnel
Planting Castor oil plants (these are poisonous, children should be kept away from them)
Drenching the soil with a solution of 2 parts Castor oil, 1 part liquid detergent. Dilute in one gallon of water and saturate the soil inside and around the mound
Trapping them with a mole trap

Tiny Game Hunting by Hilary Klein had further suggestions:
Flood the tunnels with a garden hose
Get rid of the grubs the moles are eating by applying milky spore disease and beneficial nematodes
Digging a trench at least 2 feet deep all around and filling it with stones and clay
Put peeled garlic cloves, hot peppers, Juicy Fruit gum, or pet droppings in the tunnel

So far the Castor oil solution has been the most successful, Juicy Fruit gum was a total bust. Let me know if you have some clever solution to the attack of the moles!

If I had the time...

There's never enough time to read everything you want. I pretty much stick to reading fiction as its "escapism" has a special lure for me. But there's many extremely interesting non-fiction titles being published every week. I thought I'd start a recurring post, listing new NON-FICTION titles in our library's collection that look so intriguing that, even though I probably won't get to them, I would read them IF I HAD THE TIME! Maybe you'll find the time to read them and report back!!!

Arnie & Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus and Golf's Greatest Rivalry by Ian O'Connor ---Explores their complex, at-times contentious, rivalrous relationship over many decades. One reviewer said Arnie had the crowds but not the trophies; Jack had the championships but wanted the love.

The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death Madness and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus by Joshua Kendall --- Biography of Peter Mark Roget (1779--1869) who anxiously and obsessively classified words to fend of the cycle of madness in his family. Sounds fascinating!

The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart by Bill Bishop
--- Americans are choosing homogenous places to live, compatible with our lifestyles and beliefs. Think red states versus blue ones, but on an even smaller scale. Alarming social research!

(Can you tell by this abbreviated list that I like golf, words, and statistics? )

The Crime Scene is Cleared

We have been living with crime scene tape across one of the entrances into the addition for months. Falling ice had damaged two of the sky lights, making it unsafe to walk under them.

We are delighted to announce that the tape has come down and we have lovely, new sky lights. You can look through them and actually see the sky now!

New Downloadable Audibooks

Have you looked at the downloadable audiobooks recently? New titles are constantly being added. These are some of the titles that were added in April:

Title	Author
Armageddon in Retrospect	Vonnegut, Kurt
The Ex-Debutante	Lee, Linda Francis
The Finder	Harrison, Colin
Hold Tight	Coben, Harlan
Light of the Moon	Rice, Luanne
Sex and the Seasoned Woman	Sheehy, Gail
The Siege	Lasky, Kathryn
Talking to Dragons	Wrede, Patricia
The Ten-Year Nap	Wolitzer, Meg
This Republic of Suffering	Faust, Drew Gilpin
Unaccustomed Earth	Lahiri, Jhumpa

Cheap Trick!

Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall is about a future England in which a combination of global climate change and a fuel shortage has led to the creation of an all powerful new government called The Authority. The book is written in journal format and describes the dismal lives people lead in cramped quarters working pointless, filthy factory jobs. When Sister is sterilized against her will by the government it is the last straw. Sister risks her life with a daring escape from the city to a utopian farm community of all women. Fascinating premise, isn’t it? I thought so, and was enjoying Sister’s dramatic tale of survival until the author decided to opt out of writing a big chunk of the book. The women of the farm learn that The Authority is coming to destroy their community. They prepare to fight, then suddenly the fight is over. I was flipping back and forth wondering if pages had been left out of my edition when I see a sneaky little heading at the top of the page, “DATA LOST”. What a cop out! I don’t know if the author didn’t want to deal with writing battle scenes, (she certainly had no qualms writing about violence previously), was bored with where the story was going, or simply did not know how to end her book.

I certainly hope other authors don’t resort to this bogus trick on their readers. What if Jane Austen hadn’t known what do with Mr. Darcy and merely leapt to the ending? How about we delete the whole battle of wits between Moby Dick and Ahab and just skip to 'And I only am escaped alone to tell thee.'

Ok, I am done ranting. For now.

A Glimpse into the Past

Foster’s Daily Democrat ran this advertisement for a grocery store April 24,1901. Five pounds of coffee went for $1.00, sugar was .08 a pound. I wonder what the price of gas was then?

If you are curious about what dog bread is, (don’t read this if you have a weak stomach!) read this excerpt from the Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Formulas Processes, and Trade Secrets by Gardner D. Hiscox.

Dog Biscuit:
The waste portions of meat and tallow, including the skin and fiber, have for years been imported from South American tallow factories in the form of blocks. Most of the dog bread consists principally of these remnants, chopped and mixed with flour. They contain a good deal of firm fibrous tissue, and a large percentage of fat, but are lacking in nutritive salts, which must be added to make good dog bread, just as in the case of the meat flour made from the waste of meat extract factories. The flesh of dead animals is not used by any reputable manufacturers, for the reason that it gives a dark color to the dough, has an unpleasant odor, and if not properly sterilized would be injurious to dogs as a steady diet.

I'm Not Charmed

Ok I am a little behind the times, but I just found out that Kendall Hart wrote a novel. Yes THE Kendall Hart. Don't know who she is? Ok I didn't either but she is a character on ABC's All My Children. That's right she is a character and she wrote a book titled Charm!. Apparently her husband and best friend (and enemy) were missing for a month, eventually found trapped in a mine shaft, so she had some time on her hands. Now everyone knows it only takes a month to write a novel. The book has been published by Hyperion, which is owned by Disney, as is ABC. I find this cross marketing disturbing. My thinking is that there are struggling authors out there, writing great novels, who can't catch a break because publishers are spending their time with books like Charm!. (I could go on but I have been told no one wants to hear my rantings.) Ok I haven't read it, and I suppose it could be the next great american novel, but I am still skeptical. If you would like to read Charm! the library owns it. Think I am a curmudgeon? Let me know--I can take it I've been called worse.

Get Your Hands Dirty

I don’t know about you, but I am pretty anxious to get my fingers into the dirt and start planting stuff. Unfortunately, New Hampshire weather will just not cooperate with my yen for flowers. In order to satisfy my need to garden, I am planning ahead to the fabulous container garden I will create. Every year I plant a huge pot differently; one year it was all purple and silver plants, the next year I chose white flowers mixed with red and white striped petunias. Last year was a riot of yellow, red, blue and white flowers. I am looking for something different for this summer so I am browsing through The Complete Book of Container Gardening by Alan Toogood and Hanging Baskets, Window Boxes and other Container Gardens by David Joyce to get some ideas. Toogood’s book has some interesting ideas for specialty container gardens to attract wildlife, or for scent. What do you think of a red, white, and blue container garden? Too traditional? I would love to hear what creative combinations you have used in your container gardens.

Julie & Brownie Present "Healthy Choices"

Children’s entertainers, Julie & Brownie, will perform their delightful new show, “Healthy Choices”, in the Dover Public Library Lecture Hall on Tuesday, April 22 @ 2:00pm. With music, comedy, visuals and audience participation, Julie & Brownie’s performance and original songs encourage children to make healthy choices when it comes to food and safety. This show, that has earned critical praise and has launched them on tours throughout eastern United States and Canada, is being sponsored by Wentworth Douglass Hospital.

Calling All Dover Libraries

We get some strange reference questions but one of the oddest was, “Do you have the skull of Patty Cannon?” We checked the Internet to see what that was all about because we certainly don’t have any skulls here at the Library. We found out that Patty Cannon was notorious for capturing free black people in Delaware and selling them into slavery. She died in jail 1829 while she was being held on four counts of murder. She is thought to be buried in a nearby Potter's Field; except for her skull which is now said to be stored in a hatbox at the Dover, Delaware Library.

It’s not the first time we have gotten a question intended for the Dover Public Library in Delaware. Someone else called to ask who was Miss Delaware in 1964.

We also got a call asking about the Dover’s tragic mining accident. This stumped us until we figured out they were enquiring about Dover, England. Rich coal seams near Dover, England were heavily mined through shafts sunk into coal pits. August 22nd 1908, at the Maypole pit, close to Dover, a mining accident resulted in 75 lives lost due to an explosion.

I am still trying to figure out which Dover library has a collection of art by a famous pin-up artist. Do you know?

These are just a few the Dover Libraries. If you have a question, make sure you contact the right one!

Dover Public Library- Dover, Arkansas
Dover Public Library -Dover, Delaware
Hare Bay/Dover Public Library- Hare Bay Newfoundland, Canada
Dover Town Library Dover, Massachusetts
Dover Free Public Dover, New Jersey
Dover Plains Library- Wingdale, New York
Dover Public Library- Dover, Ohio
Dover Area Community Library -Dover, Pennsylvania
Dover Free Library- Dover, Vermont

Can a Photo Lie?

You have seen deceptive photos before. You must have been e-mailed that picture of a man holding a domestic house cat that appears to be the size of a cougar, or the photo of President Bush reading an upside down book. The retouching of photos has become so easy that the software that enables you to do it has become a verb.

Sometimes photos are misleading without any help at all. Louis Masur has written a book, The Soiling of Old Glory, about a Pulitzer Prize winning photo. Stanley Forman's shocking "Old Glory" photograph was shot during a 1976 Boston anti-busing demonstration. It appeared to show a well dressed black man being set upon by a crowd of white people. A young man seemed to be attempting to impale him with the American flag. The photo became symbolic of continued resistance to equality and was printed in newspapers across the country. In reality the teenager was swinging the flag, not charging, the camera caught the arc of the flag swinging in front of the black man. The man who appears to be restraining him was actually helping him to his feet. It was such a powerful image, even though it was misleading, it successfully stalled Boston’s anti busing movement. Read this book to find out what truly happened, exposed through interviews and other images on the camera.

THE DEADLINE IS HERE!!!!

Today is the very last day to enter the Dover Public Library's Poetry Contest for kids in grades k-12!!! I bet you thought I was talking about the IRS deadline, taxes schmaxes I am sick to death of hearing about them. Poetry is infinitely more interesting so run, walk, bike, or skateboard yourself down to the library to get your poem in. Oh and if you are a tax slacker and haven't done your taxes yet we have tax forms too. Good luck to all.

Take A Ride On The Cash Cab

Many librarians love trivia; we are after all, in the information business. One of my favorite shows on the Discovery Channel is Cash Cab. Unsuspecting New Yorkers hail a cab and suddenly find themselves in a movable game show. They have the chance to win money for every correct answer; if they get 3 answers wrong they get tossed out of the cash cab. I usually feel brilliant after being able to answer most of the questions and shocked by some of the things that regular people don’t know. Nothing like a little ego stroking to make your day. Every now and then the cab driver asks a series of questions that makes me question my intellect. Oh well, win some, lose some. If you want to test your wits against the cash cab you can try their quiz. You must answer 12 questions. The first ones are real softballs like what was the name of cartoon character Calvin’s stuffed tiger. They get a little trickier later on but they are multiple choice so you can always guess. So go on, how smart are you? I got 11 out of 12.

Appearance Can Be Misleading

I know, I know, never judge a book by its cover. Some book cover art is so striking that you cannot help wanting to read the book. If the inside is as good as the outside, you will have a fabulous read. One of the covers I have really liked recently is The Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. The slightly 3-D effect of the eyes cut into the cover perfectly conveys the humorous feel of the book, and all those watching eyes perfectly exemplify the Spellman family who cannot stop spying on each other. In this case, a fun, catchy cover matched the fun, enjoyable story inside.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is another example of a book that fulfills the promise of its cover. The enchanting, Alice Hoffmanesque story of the Waverly women and the peculiar talents they inherited, their temperamental apple tree, and a mysterious walled garden that blooms year round, is by turns touching, enthralling, and amusing.

On the flip side, there are those covers that lead to disappointment. Take Narrow Dog to Carcassonne by Terry Darlington. The brightly colored, cute cover caught my eye; the topics were right up my alley. A retired English couple takes a narrowboat ( I always wanted to take a narrowboat cruise) from England ( I love books about England) across the channel into France ( I love books about France too) and down the many lovely canals to the ancient city of Carcassonne. To top it off they brought their whippet Jim with them ( I love books about dogs). All these topics should blend together to make a perfect storm of a book. Sadly, the book plodded wearily along: I gave up halfway through. Perhaps it was the odd blue typeface that threw me off. If you have read the whole book and can tell me the tale improves, let me know, I will persevere.

Is there a book cover that you remember as being perfectly outstanding, or perfectly misleading?

What was your favorite childhood film?

We are currently planning the library's summer movie schedule for kids. We will be showing some new releases that cannot be mentioned here due to our licensing agreement with the studios, but we are also thinking of showing some classics. Of course when I bring this up with staff members they say "...you have to show such & such because it was my favorite." Do you have suggestions? What was your favorite? My personal favorite is The Jungle Book and lucky for you this blog doesn't have sound or you would hear me belting out "The Bare Necessities" song--oh the simple bare necessities...

This year's Pulitzer Prizes have just been announced:

FICTION:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

HISTORY:
What Hath God Wrought: the transformation of America 1815--1848 by Daniel Walker Howe

BIOGRAPHY:
Eden's Outcasts: the story of Louisa May Alcott and her father by John Matteson

POETRY:
Time and Materials: poems 1997--2005 by Robert Hass

Failure by Philip Schultz

A Great Book for Animal Lovers

Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout
It looks like we finally have a successor to the charming, heartwarming, and humorous stories of James Herriott. Nick Trout is also an Englishman, but he works just down the road from us at Boston’s Angell Animal Medical Center. The book starts off with a bang as Nick is called in to the hospital in the middle of the night by a panicked intern. A German Shepherd has arrived suffering bloat, a life threatening condition. Sage is the last gift from an elderly widower’s late wife, and means the world to him. Will the vet be able to save the loving Shepherd, who manages to wag her tail at him through her pain? Many of the stories are very humorous like that of Taco the man hating Chihuahua and the Labrador puppy that exposes a cheating fiancé by eating the fish net stocking of his mistress. Some are sad as not all pets can be saved, no matter how dearly loved. Times have changed from what the good Doctor Herriott was able to offer and there is much discussion of modern technology and the philosophical questions it poses for vets and owners. How far should you go to save the life of your pet? This book was intriguing and enjoyable, I didn’t want to put it down. Another librarian is listening to the audio book and says the narrator has been fantastic, she has been laughing at loud, as well as almost in tears.

Richard Steinbach Art on Display

Richard Steinbach, a Dover artist who began painting at age 50, has a display of many his paintings in the Reference Room. Make sure to come see them!

The Library Redecorates

I was just inspired by the March 2008 issue of Country Home magazine! The room designer wanted to "turn a distracting jumble into a neutral element" and so turned all the books on the bookshelves spine-inward:

This lovely monotonal palette of ecru, buff, cream, wheat and linen-colored pages had such instant appeal that I've made an executive decision to turn all of our library's 100,000 volumes backwards too! Won't it be fun to try and find a book? Every trip to the library will be like a scavenger hunt! I know our reference librarians will just love the change! It will, however, be more difficult for those who can only remember that the book they need "had a red cover".

Note to some aghast readers: remember to take a look at the date on this post!

All In the Family

I saw a review of Peter Leonard’s first book, Quiver,which was described as a disappointing debut by the son of legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard in the March 10^th Publishers Weekly. It got me thinking about other authors’ children who enter the field. I just finished Duma Key by Stephen King. In the novel he mentions a few times a mysterious “heart shaped box,” which also happens to be the title of his son’s breakout novel. His son, unlike the other children listed here, chose to write under a different surname, so as to avoid comparison with his father.

Peter Leonard, son of Elmore Leonard
Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, Stephen’s wife Tabitha also writes
Jesse Kellerman, son of Faye and Jonathan Kellerman, both authors
Brian Herbert, son of Frank Herbert
Carol Higgins Clark, daughter of Mary Higgins Clark
Robin Pilcher, son of Rosamunde Pilcher

I wonder, is it an advantage, or disadvantage, to have a famous parent who also writes for a living?

Dark Lantern Review

Dark Lantern by Gerri Brightwell

In this atmospheric novel of Victorian London, no one is who they seem to be. Mina, the wife of Robert Bentley, longs to flee to Paris to escape her mysterious watchers, and away from a dark secret about to come to light. Jane, the young house maid is hiding a secret that could lose her her job and reputation. The widow of Robert’s brother is an unknown quantity; is she who she appears to be? Sarah, the other housemaid, knows many secrets of the house and uses them all to her advantage. Evocative, full of twists and turns, this novel kept me guessing to the end; a real page turner!

The Currier Museum of Art Is Reopening

The Currier Museum of Art will offer free admission to the museum Sunday, March 30 to Sunday, April 6 to celebrate their grand reopening. The museum has been closed since June of 2006 to build a 30,000 foot addition. The Currier Museum of Art is an internationally renowned art museum featuring European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, O'Keeffe, Calder and Wyeth. If you can’t make the grand re-opening make sure to use the Library’s passes and you can visit the museum free anytime.

Happy Winds-day !

The past few days have reminded me of a classic children’s tale. I swear Winnie the Pooh had March in mind when he made up this little ditty.

Hum for a Blustery Day
From: Winnie The Pooh and the Blustery Day


Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily
And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today
It sounds that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

896 PAGES!!

I've noticed a trend--young adult books are getting longer, and longer. It started with a little series called Harry Potter. JK maxed out at 870 pages with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Christopher Paolini's 3rd book in his Inheritance series, Brisingr, is coming out on September 20th, and is a whopping 896 pages. Stephenie Meyer's 4th book in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, due out on August 2 is 704 pages. There were many that thought that kids would not read The Order of the Phoenix because it was too long--I think we all know, that turned out to be false. I also know that kids, and adults, will be clamoring to read Brisingr and Breaking Dawn. All I can say is, I am glad that publishers don't charge by the pound.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time....

I had a bad weekend last week. Definitely of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad genre.For reasons that I no longer recall (probably due to dietary trauma), I decided that my system could do with a little purification. It was almost spring, Easter was a coming, and hey, celebrities do it all the time. How tough could it be? No, I didn't go to rehab. It was much, much worse. I decided to detox. With a downloaded menu in hand, I announced to family and coworkers alike my intentions. Actually, it was more of a warning...I thought I might be a little cranky at home and at work during the following week. In order to follow the menu plan, I was to give up all dairy products, wheat, caffeine(my coffee!)- all the good stuff in life and give my system a rest for a week. Alcohol wasn't mentioned but I decided to be good and add that too. In the spirit of solidarity, daughters 3 and 4 decided to join me in my journey. The husband threatened to eat juicy steaks in front of us as his contribution. I wasn't scared. He'd have to cook them himself. It was a very simple plan. No funny teas or potions-just a lot of organic fruits and veggies, salads, soups, and a little protein in the form of fish and chicken. Piece of cake. Day 1 passed okay. There were a few complaints about the breakfast which was described as 2 slices of wood with mud slapped on it, otherwise known as Ezekiel bread with almond butter. But other than a few longing looks at the leftover pizza in the fridge, we survived. After breakfast on day 2, I began to worry. The kids hated breakfast, salad was looking bad, and the vegetable soup I made for lunch was activating my gag reflex. We made it to dinner-gluten free pasta with marinara and salad for the third time. During dinner we spoke longingly of the good old days of bread and butter, a glass of milk or wine. I worried about being hauled over to the school for child abuse. Then Satan sat down at our dinner table in the form of daughter #3's boyfriend. He complemented the pasta , gave an evil laugh, and withdrew a large Lindt chocolate bar from his jacket pocket. All conversation ceased. "You know", I said, "We could make this a weekend detox..." Daughter #4 said she was staying up till midnight so she could eat the chocolate bar. I said it was midnight some where and dove for it. Chaos ensued but no injuries were sustained. We shook on it , decided to end detox, and try again another day. Later, as I was explaining to my massage therapist why I had a knot the size of Texas in my neck, I discovered we hadn't even made it to the hard day. Day 3 is the biggie. She detoxes twice a year and takes a week off of work each time in order to hide herself from the world. If you decide that you would like to test your own willpower and stamina, we just received a new book at the library, The Detox Strategy-Vibrant Health in 5 easy steps by Brenda Watson. We also have the Detox Diet by Elson M Haas and several other titles in the stacks. All I can say is good luck and I dare you. I double dog dare you!

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

I found myself using the phrase “tide her over” yesterday, and started wondering about the origin of the phrase. Is it only nerdy librarians that wonder about these types of things? I found an interesting weblog that gave me the information I was looking for, and I also browsed through some of the library’s collection of books on word and phrase origins. These books are not only good reference sources but they are also just plain ole entertaining. Who wouldn’t want to know the origin of the phrase “put the kibosh on (something)", which can be found in The Whole Ball of Wax and Other Colloquial Phrases by Laurence Urdang. The Word Detective by Evan Morris includes all kinds of interesting words and phrases—you could say everything from soups to nuts (page 187). The Yankee Dictionary by Charles F. Haywood is full good old New England sayings (many that I have never heard of). Ahhhh…I just love looking at these books—it just makes me as happy as a clam at high tide.

The Library will be closed Sunday, March 23

The Library will be closed this Sunday for the Easter holiday. In the meantime, enjoy this very cute Peeps page. People get so creative with their Peeps- there are even Peeps videos now.

And of course, if you have not seen the classic Peeps Visit the Library, you won't want to miss that!

How Well Do You Know Dover History?

After the many fascinating Heritage Walks and Reveals in Dover, many of you are aware of Dover’s historic Mills, fires, and flood. How well do you really know what happened in Dover? We dare you to test your knowledge with a short little quiz we put together.

"The Sun Was Warm but the Wind Was Chill"

We are getting desperate for spring here at the Library and it’s starting to show in our choice of bookmarks. Make sure to pick some up the next time you are in; they may be the only butterflies and flowers you will see for a while.

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.
You're one month on in the middle of May.
Two Tramps in Mud Time by Robert Frost

Irish PI's Aren't Smilin'

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here’s a short list of some recent mysteries and thrillers by a new breed of Irish novelists. Some are set in the Old Sod while others feature Irish-born detectives working here in the U.S. They’re all highly recommended:

Ken Bruen’s “Jack Taylor” series featuring an alcoholic, ex-cop, Galway PI :
The Guards; The Killing of the Tinkers; The Magdalen Murders; The Dramatist; Priest; and Cross. Irish Noir at its best!

Paul Charles’s 1st “Inspector Starrett” mystery, Dust of Death, features a Garda detective investigating murder in Donegal. A very promising series kickoff.

Declan Hughes’s mysteries featuring seedy ex-LA cop Ed Loy who now investigates crimes in Dublin: The Wrong Kind of Blood; The Color of Blood; and The Price of Blood.

Award-winning Irish novelist John Banville writes his mysteries under the pseudonym Benjamin Black and they feature Dublin pathologist “Garret Quirke”. Set in 1950s Boston and Dublin, the two books so far are Christine Falls and Silver Swan.

Of course, you can’t miss with the “Charlie Parker” series, set in Maine, by Irish author John Connolly. The 6th in the series, “The Unquiet” is just out and a little bird tells me that Dover’s own Matt Mayberry is a character in the book! Connolly has been called Ireland’s own Stephen King.

And we can’t forget the women…

Erin Hart’s Haunted Ground and Lake of Sorrows follow Minnesota pathologist, Nora Gavin, a visiting lecturer at Trinity College, as get caught up in such gruesome crimes as a body in a peat bog.

Tara French’s “In the Woods” is both a police procedural and a psychological thriller. A detective investigates a missing child in the same woods where, 20 years, earlier, his two friends disappeared.

Irish “cozies” are the subject of Dicey Deere’s Torrey Tunet series. Torrey is a 28-year old translator from Boston, now living in Dublin, and she probes “The Irish Cottage Murder”, “The Irish Manor house Murder”, “The Irish Village Murder” and “The Irish Cairn Murder” from the hamlet of Ballyragh.

The prolific Rhys Bowen has a historical mystery series featuring plucky Molly Murphy, an Irish immigrant PI in early 20th century New York City. The seventh book, “Tell Me Pretty Maiden”, has just been published.

And for Irish “oldie but goodie” mysteries don’t pass up Bartholomew Gill’s 16 police procedurals featuring Garda Police Supt. McGarr, Peter Tremayne’s 17 “Sister Fidelma” mysteries, or County Clare Inspector Matt Minogue’s detecting in the novels of John Brady.

The Sweetest Season

Even though we are still receiving a weekly dose of snow, signs of spring have begun to appear in long suffering New England. Birds are singing, puddles and potholes are appearing in the roads, and buckets and pipes have begun sprouting from Maples everywhere. If you are curious about how tree sap becomes a delicious treat, take a look at Sweet Maple by James Lawrence. This helpful book with loaded with illustrations and recipes. If you want a guide to show you exactly how to set up your own sugaring operation, look at Making Maple Syrup by Noel Perrin.

Don't Know Much About History

There has been a fair amount of press recently about a survey of teenagers, 1200 17-year-olds, that found that they know little about history and literature. When these type of survey results surface there are always example given such as "one in four thought Columbus sailed for the New World sometime after 1750." Shocking I know, but I've always wondered about the other questions and the wording of the questions, and so I went searching for the test. Alas, I found Common Core, the company that apparently administers the test and they had a link to the test with all 33 questions. After ascertaining that I would not be displaying "stunning ignorance" in my knowledge of history and literature, I can feel better about being shocked. Make sure to take a look at the test so you too can rant, with confidence, against the injustices of the education system.

6th Annual Poetry Contest

Calling all Dover area students please join us for our 6th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry Contest! Since it's inception over 2300 poems have been submitted to our contest--I think that is pretty impressive. The contest is for students from K-12th grade and prizes will be awarded in 6 different grade categories: K-2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8, 9&10, and 11&12. Pick up a contest rules sheet at the Dover Public Library, at your Dover School Library, or download one here. Last years 1st Place winner in the K-2 category, Joseph Thompson, wrote a poem about the Library--here it is for your reading pleasure.

The Library

Tunnel of imagination

Has to be quiet

Elaborate quietly

Live another life

Isn't so cool to be yelling

Books, Books, Books, Dictionaries, and more books

Rare tenderness kids peace

A dictionary is not enough

Roll to the adventures

You are the mastermind

Student Art on Display at the Library

In celebration of Student Art Month, Dover High School art students are displaying their fantastical creations here at the Library. Take a look at the blog slide show to see some of their brilliant artwork but you really need to visit in person to see how creative and original they truly are. You don’t want to miss the giant cupcake and plastic utensil bird!

And Now For Something Completely Different

There are no deep thoughts or important news to impart in this post. Instead, I offer you a bit of silly sweetness to bring a smile to your face; the world’s cutest bookend.

Is it deductible?

It is tax season again and since this is one of the tasks that falls to me in my household I have been doing a bit of research. I'm always worried that I claimed something I shouldn't have and they are going to throw me in the big house, or that I missed out on some deduction that everyone else knows about but me. Paranoid--who me? While doing my research I found an "Is it deductible?" quiz on Kiplinger's website. Did you know you can claim a charitable contribution if you host a foreign exchange student? Ok, I don't have an exchange student living with me, but if I ever do, I now know. Also they have a tax rebate calculator for those of you who are unsure of how much money you are entitled to, if any, from the economic stimulus package that was signed on Feb. 13. Now I just need to stop procrastinating and get my taxes done. If you don't get your taxes done by the April 15th deadline the library has extension forms on hand--form 4868.

Love and Consequences

Yet another fabricated memoir--this one was titled Love and Consequences: A Memoir of Hope and Survival by Margaret B. Jones (real name Margaret Seltzer). This gang memoir was purportedly about a multi-racial women living in South Central Los Angeles and how she survived the gangs, drugs, foster system, and violence. Ms. Seltzer was found out when her sister saw her profiled in the New York Times, along with a picture, and called the publisher to let them know. Seems pretty silly to me to allow your photograph to be in the paper, where someone you know is bound to see it, when you are trying to pull off this scam. Anyhow the real Margaret lived a fairly privileged life across town in the more upscale Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles. Her excuse for the scam is that the while working to end gang violence she met many people who lived the life she described and their stories needed to be told. Take a look at the article in the New York Times about her, or you can actually listen to an interview with her on NPR that was taped before her confession but never aired. Let us know how you feel about this--was she just trying to make a buck or was she genuinely trying to tell a story she thought needed to be heard?

New Downloadable Audio Books Available

The Chicago Tribune has caught on to how great downloadable Audio Books are; have you? The New Hampshire State Library has purchased more new titles for you to download, check them out!

Title	Author
Airman	Colfer, Eoin
Geography of Bliss	Weiner, Eric
Kiss of the Highlander	Moning, Karen Marie
The Mephisto Club	Gerritsen, Tess
The Sweet Far Thing	Bray, Libba
100 Cupboards	Wilson, N.D.
Beverly Hills Dead	Woods, Stuart
The Fifth Woman	Mankell, Henning
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon	Barry, Dave
The Secret of the Old Mill	Dixon, Franklin W.
The Senator's Wife	Miller, Sue
The Middle Place	Corrigan, Kelly
Be the Pack Leader	Millan, Cesar
Hide and Seek	Michaels, Fern
The Killing Ground	Higgins, Jack
Musicophilia	Sacks, Oliver
A New Earth	Tolle, Eckhart
Prepared for Rage	Stabenow, Dana
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Volume II	Black, Holly
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Volume III	Black, Holly
Stardust	Gaiman, Neil
The Water Horse	King-Smith, Dick
The Appeal	Grisham, John
Firefly Lane	Hannah, Kristin
Lady Friday	Nix, Garth
The Secret Between Us	Delinsky, Barbara
Sizzle and Burn	Krentz, Jayne Ann