Weekly "GSF Booktalk" #6

Members of the Great Stone Face (GSF) Committee have written "booktalks" to spark interest in reading all 20 titles on this year's list of nominees. One per week (for 20 weeks!) will be posted here. We are up to #6.  This is a a great read for Historical Fantasy fans!

Gods And Warriorsby Michelle Paver

3,500 years ago the world was a dangerous and magical place. Gods and prophecies could make a big difference in your life.  Hylas is a goat herd and considered an outsider by the villagers.  He is being hunted by powerful warriors who want him dead.  They may have already captured his sister.  Hylas is forced to flee and find refuge from the warriors.  A dying stranger gives Hylas a valuable bronze dagger to help him survive his troubles.  While on the run, Hylas is going to need all his skills and wits to survive and find his sister.  He also wants to find out why those warriors are trying to kill him.  It’s a long journey, but Hylas is ready.
(Booktalk by Susan McDonald-GSF Committee/Weeks Public Library, Greenland, NH)

Looking For Unique Dover Gifts?

You can finish your Christmas shopping at the Library. We offer an assortment of gifts unique to Dover.

Dover Public Library Bookbag. The latest design of our popular bookbags has a zippered pocket inside, handy for keys and library cards, as well as a pocket on the front of the bag. $15.00

Birds Eye View of Dover 1888, a poster sized map from the Friends of the Library.$5.00

Notepaper featuring five historic scenes of Dover. $4.00

The Port of Dover: Two Centuries of Shipping on the Cochecho by Robert Whitehouse and Cathleen Beaudoin. $25.00

The Great Blaze: A Look Back at Dover's Deadly Mill Fire DVD. 12.95

Come on in and see what else we have to offer!

2013 Librarians' Choice list is Now Available

We are proud to present the 2013 Librarians’ Choice; our favorite books of the year. We hope you enjoy them!

 

Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister

Overbooked by Elizabeth Becker

Scent of Darkness by Margot Berwin

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman

A Street Cat Named Bob and How He Saved My Life by James Bowen

Speaking from Among the Bones by C. Alan Bradley

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Ten Things I’ve Learnt about Love by Sarah Butler

The Possibility Dogs by Susannah  Charleson

The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini

Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen

The October List by Jeffrey Deaver

The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns

Stockholm Otavo by Karen Engelmann

Seven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Cuckoo’s Calling by John Galbraith

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Blood Money by James Grippando

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Ghost Man by Roger Hobbs

Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog by Jamie Ivey

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley

Last Summer of the Camperdowns by Elizabeth Kelly

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

The Dinner by Herman Koch

Capital by John Lanchester

Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann
After Rome by Morgan Llywelyn
Life Below Stairs by Alison Maloney

The Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

The Son by Philip Meyer

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

Choke Point by Ridley Pearson

The Boyfriend by Thomas Perry
A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley

Airtight by David Rosenfelt

Dogtripping by David Rosenfelt

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Senker

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The Andalucian Friend by Alexander Soderberg

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

The List by Karin Tanabe

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro
The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood

Weekly "GSF Booktalk" #5

Here is booktalk #5 written by members of the Great Stone Face Committee to spark interest in reading all 20 titles on this year's list of nominees for the state award:

 

Ghost Knight
by Cornelia Funke

Eleven year old Jon Whitcroft never expected his mother to ship him off to boarding school, but she did. He had tried to get rid of his mother’s boyfriend, A.K.A. “The Beard”, but nothing worked.  Now, he’s attending his father’s old school but teachers and school mates are not the only ones at school.  Jon has been confronted by three horrible ghosts and revenge is on their minds, but why?   What has Jon done to them?  What can he do to combat these ghosts?  There is an old school legend about a ghost knight who helps those in need.  If Jon raises the specter of the ghost knight, will he help defeat the evil ghosts?  Jon is desperate, he’ll do anything to stay alive.
(Booktalk by Susan McDonald-GSF Committee/Weeks Public Library, Greenland, NH)

Find Holiday Stress Relief at the Library!

     Are the holidays causing you stress? Are you finding it difficult to cope with the pressures of family and work? The Dover Public Library can help you relax! Visit us any time during the week of December  9--14 to check out special books on stress management and relaxation, or to play with our Zen garden. Or, attend one of two lunchtime meditation workshops we’ll be hosting. Meditation is a way of encouraging and developing concentration, clarity, and emotional positivity, and studies have shown that a regular meditation practice has many positive effects on the mind and body.

     On Wednesday December 11, from 12-1pm, the library will offer “Loving Kindness Meditation”.

In this workshop, you will learn to cultivate loving kindness through a meditation in five stages. It begins with feeling this emotion for ourselves, which can be expressed with an image, such as shining light, or a phrase like “may I be well, may I be happy.” It then moves on to feeling loving kindness for a good friend, a neutral person in our lives, an enemy or person with whom we have conflict, and finally allowing loving kindness to spread and extend outward. Practicing loving kindness can transform your understanding of yourself and your relationship to the world.

      Then on Saturday December 14, from 12-1pm, you may attend the “Mindfulness of Breathing Meditation” workshop. Using breath as an object of concentration, this simple meditation brings us back to the present moment and all the richness of experience that it contains. Mindfulness of breathing is a good antidote to restlessness and anxiety, and a good way to relax: concentration on the breath has a positive effect on your entire physical and mental state.

     These free workshops will be led by Dharmachari Candradāsa, a practitioner with 20 years of meditation experience.    No pre-registration is necessary. Please call the Library, 516-6050, for more information.

Weekly "GSF Booktalk" #4

Freaky Fast Frankie Joe

by Lutricia Clifton

Frankie Joe’s mom was in jail. It really wasn’t her fault…how could she know that the package stashed in her purse contained drugs? She was just trying to help a friend…that’s how she was. Frankie was happy to stay in their trailer by himself, enjoying the company of his elderly neighbors, but soon enough he was found out, and was sent from Laredo, Texas all the way to northern Illinois with a stranger who was actually his father. He was shocked to learn that he had a stepmother and four half-brothers awaiting his arrival. The eldest, Matt, was no happier about the arrangement than he was…Frankie had bumped him out of firstborn status in the rigid family pecking order. Only 11 months, Frankie thought…then Mom would be out of jail.
But he couldn’t bear it for 11 months, so he hatched a secret plan to earn some money and bike his way back to Texas. In school, he was demoted to fourth grade, since there were so many gaps in his education. Brother Matt quickly labeled him “Freaky Slow Frankie Joe”. But when he showed Matt up in a bike race, he suddenly became “Freaky Fast Frankie Joe.” Frankie started a pizza delivery business to earn money for his trip, so he could leave before winter snows arrived. But an early blizzard foiled his plan. Would Frankie ever make it back to Texas? And what of his Mom…what were her plans? What surprises did life hold in store for Frankie Joe?
(Booktalk written by Luci Albertson, GSF Committee/Bedford Public Library)

The Library Will be Closed Thursday and Friday

We're open Wednesday as usual, 9-5:30, and Saturday as usual 9-5, but we're closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, November 28 and Friday, November 29. Enjoy your turkey!

Novelist Plus

Good news--the Library now has access to Novelist Plus! This is the same Readers' Advisory database that we had before, but now it includes nonfiction. Novelist Plus gives you "comprehensive information about books that includes expert recommendations, reviews, articles, lists and more." I already use Novelist extensively and now it is even better. The database is available in the Library or from home with a valid DPL card. From our Online Resources page click on the Ebscohost databases link and Novelist Plus (and Novelist Plus K-8) will be options. Enjoy!