What Do I Read Next?

Have you ever gotten hooked on a series? You want to read the series in order so how do you find out what to read next? One of our patrons fell in love with the stories about Jacky Faber, a bold young girl from England who escapes dire circumstances by posing as a boy and enlisting in the Royal Navy. Our patron wanted to read the stories in the proper order. I showed her NoveList, our online reader's advisory service. NoveList is there to help you find out what you might to read next based on books you have enjoyed in the past. One of the things it allows you to do is a series search.

The patron wasn't sure of the name of the series, just the lead character's name so we typed in JACKY FABER in the search box at the top of the page and clicked on the series button. Voila! The next screen told us that this was the Bloody Jack series, and listed the books in order, with descriptions for each book.

You can try NoveList here on the Library computers by clicking on the ONLINE NOW tab of the catalog. You can also use NoveList at home by going to the Online Databases page of our website and clicking on EbscoHost databases. Have your library card ready as you will need to type in the entire barcode to log on.

Try it, I think you will enjoy this terrific resource.

Story Times @ DPL

The Children's Room staff is pleased to announce that during the next 5 week session of story times (January 10-February 11), we will be offering a "drop-in" story time (suitable for ages 2-5) in addition to our "registered groups". This story time is open to all (visitors and non-resident card holders included)! Children are welcome to drop-in for any or all of these story times on Wednesdays @ 9:30 a.m. (Children under 3 must be accompanied by an adult.)

Registration for our regular series of story times for Dover children will begin on Monday, January 3. Children enrolled in these groups join us for story time on their chosen day for all 5 weeks.

For 3-6 year-olds, there are three different times to choose from:
Monday afternoon 1:30—2:15
Monday night 7:00—7:45
Tuesday morning 9:30—10:15

*Sign-up for the 3-6 year-olds begins at 9:00a.m. in the Children’s Room. Phone call registration begins at 9:15a.m. This 45-minute program (attended by the children only) includes stories, finger plays, songs and puppets. A theme related craft or film is also offered during each session.

For 2-year-olds (Toddlers), there are 2 different times to choose from:
Thursday morning 9:30—10:30
Friday morning 9:30—10:30

*Sign-up begins at 6:00p.m. in the Children’s Room for the toddler groups. Phone call registration begins at 6:15p.m. Toddler programs (attended by the children along with their parent or care-giver) include stories, finger plays and songs selected for a two-year-old’s developmental level.

Ho Ho Ho

Did you receive an eBook reader for the holidays? An iPod? Don't forget that you can access eBooks and audiobooks for free, with certain compatible devices, with your Dover Public Library card. Visit the New Hampshire Downloadable web site to find out more.

Bacon Donuts Anyone?

Lately we have been touting the "Best of" lists, but how about the "Worst of"? The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have published a list of the "5 Worst Cookbooks of 2010". Here is the hall of shame:

• Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen: Recipes from The F-Word By Gordon Ramsay
• Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood By Trisha Yearwood
• How to Cook Like a Top Chef By the creators of Top Chef
• Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips By Ina Garten
• The Primal Blueprint Cookbook: Primal, Low Carb, Paleo, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free By Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier
  

FYI--the library owns The Primal Blueprint Cookbook and the Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That.:)

Holiday Hours

The Library will be closed on Friday, Dec. 24 through Sunday, Dec. 26. Have a happy and safe holiday!

Getting a Nook eReader for Christmas?

Here's what you need to know in order to get free eBooks for your Nook through the Library.

You will need to use use a PC or Mac computer.

First download and install Adobe Digital Editions to your PC or Mac.

Then register for an Adobe ID and authenticate your computer and Nook with the *same* ID.
 

Search for eBooks at the New Hampshire Downloadable Books website. You can then checkout and download the eBook to Adobe Digital Editions.

When downloading a recently checked out eBook, open the file with Adobe Digital Editions.

Drag and drop the eBook from the center section of Adobe Digital Editions to your Nook, which should be listed on the left sidebar of ADE.

The borrowing period for eBooks is 14 days. After 14 days the eBook is "returned" to the collection for the next person and it will no longer be readable on your Nook or computer.

Try watching these helpful slideshows before you get started.

Using a PC & Nook to Enjoy eBooks

Using a Mac & a Nook to Enjoy eBooks

2010 Librarians' Choice list is Now Available

The media is flooded with "best of" lists this time of year. Your local librarians want you to know what we think the best books and media of 2010 are here at the DPL. We have been collecting titles all year of our favorite books, DVDs, audiobooks, teen books, and children's books. The list has grown so big this year that we could not fit it in our usual handy bookmark format. If you are looking for our top choices in all formats, look for the full size handout of The Librarians' Choice 2010.

Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
The Crocodile’s Last Embrace by Suzanne Arruda
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake By Aimee Bender
Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin
The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by C. Alan Bradley
Veracity by Laura Bynam
Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo
The Passage by Justin Cronin
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
Edge by Jeffrey Deaver
Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Live to Tell  by Lisa Gardner
Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That by Ina Garten
Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman
Crashers by Dana Haynes
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Under the Dome by Stephen King
So Cold the River  by Michael Koryta
Such a Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb
Dexter is Delicious by Jeffry Lindsay
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
Stress Fracture by D.P.Lyle
The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn
Down to the Wire by David Rosenfelt
Broken by Karin Slaughter
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
Fragile by Lisa Unger
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
The Lost Hours by Karen White

Audiobooks
At Home by Bill Bryson
Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke
A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
I remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay
Life by Keith Richards
Bad Blood by John Sandford

DVDS
Alice in Wonderland
Blind Side
District 9
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
Inglourious Basterds
Leap Year
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
The Town
Valentine’s Day
Whip It
Zombieland

Teen Books
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Torment by Lauren Kate

Children’s Books
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee
Miss Tutu's Star by Leslea Newman
Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to my Daughters by Barack Obama
It's a Book by Lane Smith
City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion by Mo Willems

Would You Tip an Author?

Galleycat had an amusing article about the ever creative humorist David Sedaris. On a whim he started setting out a tip jar on a book tour and took in $4000!

Would you tip your favorite author?

Want to Download eBooks & Audiobooks to Your Smart Phone?

Great news from OverDrive, the company that supplies our downloadable audiobooks and eBooks! Now you can download both EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks directly to your iPhone, iPod touch, or Android phone/tablet. Search for "OverDrive Media Console" in the Apple App Store and Android Market,if you already use an OverDrive app you will be alerted to update the existing  app on your devices.

iPhone eBooks
OverDrive Media Console v2.0 for iPhone and Android provides two major enhancements that improve the end user experience. First, the apps now enable you to download and enjoy EPUB eBooks on your devices (in addition to the existing ability to download MP3 audiobooks). The eBook reading experience includes user-inspired features for bookmarking and adjusting brightness and font size. Additional features will be added as the apps develop, including highlighting, annotation, in-app text-to-speech, and more.

Second, both apps offer a built-in 'Get Books' feature. If you have already downloaded audiobooks from Dover Public library with a previous version of the app, your library will be displayed when you select 'Get Books'. With a single click, you can reach the library site once again. If you are new to library downloads, you can quickly find your 'Virtual Branch' website and save it for single-click access going forward. Once you find your library using 'Get Books' feature, you can browse the 'Virtual Branch' website on your device, check out a title with your library card, and wirelessly download an EPUB eBook to the app.

Currently the iPhone app will work on iPad with iOS 4 and enables the full browse, check out, download experience. However, an optimized version for iPad-with improved resolution and additional features is coming soon, along with apps for BlackBerry and other mobile devices.

I haven't tried this app yet because it is too much of a strain on my old eyes to read a book on my iPod Touch, but I would love to hear from anyone that does try it!

Last Chance to Donate Food for Fines

Today is the last day to donate to the City of Dover employees' FOOD DRIVE! Bring a canned good or dry staple item to the Library and get $.50 deducted from your current fines for each item you donate to our collection box. Help us help the local food pantries!

Otis

My son and I have discovered a new favorite picture book: Otis by Loren Long. Otis is a tractor who befriends a lonely, young calf who is missing his mother. Otis' gentle "putt puff puttedy puff" soothes the scared calf, and they become inseparable--from frolicking in the fields to playing Ring Around the Rosie. When the farm acquires a big, new, shiny, yellow tractor Otis is moved out of the barn to become overgrown with weeds. The book has a feel of a book from the past, with scenes reminding me of The Story of Ferdinand, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, but the message of friendship and loyalty are timeless.

What is Going to Happen to Fabio?

I have read several articles lately about how romance novels are the fastest growing segment of the ebook market. Apparently readers are embarrassed by the heaving bosom covers and are choosing the publishing version of a pair of dark glasses--reading it on an ereader. I know I am dating myself by being concerned for Fabio (he is 51 now!), but I don't know who the current equivalent of Fabio is? If these covers are no longer produced it will be the end of an era!

Books for Holiday Giving

Our lovely Children's Room staff have come up with some great books for you to get the kids on your list. Read on!

Picture Books & Readers:

• LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
• Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
• Bink & Gollie by Kate DiCamillo
• Santa Duck and his Merry Helpers by David Milgrim
• The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
• City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
• We Are In a Book! (or any Elephant & Piggie book) by Mo Willems

Grades 3 to 6:

• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
• The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow
• The Extraordinary Mark Twain by Barbara Kerley
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
• Built to Last by David Macaulay
• A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time (Magic Tree House) by Mary Oppe Osborne
• Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Pierce
• Spaceheadz by Jon Scieszka

Really You Liked That One?

All of the "Best of 2010" lists are coming out, and so some of the library staff were discussing our fiction favorites from 2010 over lunch. Some titles that came up were Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, Under the Dome by Stephen King, the Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman, and Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. Of course, for each glowing endorsement there was someone berating it. There is nothing like a good tussle over lunch! What would be on your best list?

Ladybug Award Winner Announced

During the month of November, 18,193 New Hampshire children from preschoolers to those in third grade voted for their favorite book from the 2010 list of Ladybug Picture Book Award nominees.

And the winner is...Princess Hyacinth: (the surprising story of a girl who floated) by Florence Parry Heide (receiving 2,941 votes!).

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.

Past or Present?

I finished a book the other day and went on to the next book in my stack. Crown of Dust by Mary Volmer had received good reviews and sounded like an interesting story. A young girl runs away to find her fortune in California during the gold rush, posing as a boy. I just could not get into it. I realized that the author had written it in the present tense and it was really irritating me to read a historical novel written in the present tense. No worries, on to the next book in my little hoard. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory is another well reviewed book with the added bonus of glowing reviews from other library staff. Just the ticket. I picked up this historical novel about Margaret Beaufort, the matriarch of the Tudor line. Aaaagh! Once again it is written in the present tense, and to top it off it is in the first person singular. I do not like first person singular narratives, just another quirk of mine. So now I am down to the last book in my stack, a modern Gothic novel taking place in the Great Lakes. It is not written in the present tense or first person singular. So far, so good.

What do you think, should a historical novel be written in the past tense? Do you have any quirky reading habits?

Special Holiday Story Time

The Children's Room will be hosting a holiday "drop-in" story time on Saturday, Dec. 11 from 10:30am to 11:15am. Take a break from shopping and enjoy this special story hour with Miss Kimberly--it promises to be lots of FUN!

Hogwarts Holiday Tree

The library's "Hogwarts Holiday" tree, abounding with Harry Potter decorations, won 2nd prize in Dover's first annual Festival of Trees at City Hall auditorium on Friday night, December 3! We had golden snitches, owls, lightning bolts, school scarves in Hogwarts colors, Bertie's Bots, Marauders Maps, school crests and gowns, Harry's glasses, and the Sorting Hat as the tree topper! And under the tree was a set of all 7 HP books by J.K. Rowling! The winning bid for our tree was $110, with all proceeds going toward the City Lights organization which is raising funds to illuminate downtown Dover during the holiday season. Here are some photos of our tree in progress but check out our Facebook album if you want to see some close-up photos of all the decorations. What book series would you like to see us create as a Christmas tree next year?

Children's Holiday Books & Crafts

Stop by the Children's Room and check out the "Happy Holidays" bulletin board display. Miss Karin has created a little house that looks good enough to eat as well as many samples of crafty items that the kids can make while they wait for the holiday celebrations to begin or to give as gifts to someone special.

Also, there are still many Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza books available for borrowing.

Is it a House? A Hat?

I recently took home a brand new picture book from the library for my son and I to enjoy--The Wonderful Book by Leonid Gore. As you can probably guess I was attracted to the title and the great cover. It is a really cute story about how different animals come across a book in the forest and each decide for themselves what they think it is--a house, a hat, a table, and a bed. My son thought that this was hilarious! Near the end of the book a little boy comes along and tells them it is a book and reads the story to them. It is a really simple story with great illustrations--perfect for our overstimulated lives. Imagine my amusement when I read a review of the book in Kirkus magazine and the reviewer used terms such as metatextuality, metalayers, and codex. Oh well I just thought it was cute:).

Christmas at the Library

Christmas elves visited the Library yesterday. Come see the lovely decorations and bring something for the City of Dover employees' Food Drive or our Dover Fire Toy Bank box.

Say it isn't so!

Recently, the New York Times newspaper ran an article about the fading popularity of children’s Picture Books (see: Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children). They blamed not only the economy but the fact that parents and schools are encouraging children to read “big-kid chapter books” earlier and earlier. Bookstores agree that sales are down and that they sometimes have to pack up the Picture Books and return them to the publisher. In turn, the publishers are curtailing the number of Picture Books they produce for market and those wonderful, talented authors and illustrators of Picture Books are feeling the pinch. Please, say it isn’t so!

If I had to choose my favorite type of children’s book, it would be the Picture Book. Most Picture Books are written with a sophisticated vocabulary that children can understand but not necessarily read (until they are school-age) and their bountiful illustrations can help develop sensitivity, humor, critical thinking and imagination. And remember, there are the Picture Books that are written with the older child or even the adult in mind (see books by Patricia Polacco). Oh, the things they can teach and the emotions they can invoke (I’m often seen at the circulation desk with teary eyes after reading a new picture book)! Picture Books are so important to developing a love for reading.

Please say it isn’t so…that their popularity is fading or that parents don't see (as literary experts are quick to say) that Picture Books are not for dummies …

Wait…
one of our patrons just checked out 30 Picture Books!

Have You Downloaded Today?

Librarians are freaks for statistics. The beginning of the month is my big day to collect all my statistics on how many people visit our blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts, the We Remember Dover and Rabid Reader wikis (thank you to all of those who do!) I also collect statistics on our databases, how many books we borrow and loan through Interlibrary Loan, and how many audiobooks and eBooks are borrowed through our website. Downloadable eBooks just became available this spring so I was curious to see how popular the service was with Library patrons. I was delighted to see that 3,677 eBooks have been check out by Dover Public Library patrons since March! I wonder how many more titles will more get checked out if eReaders like The Nook are popular Christmas presents this year?