Friday, September 28, 2012

Banned Books Week Begins This Sunday

Banned Books Week is September 30 - October 6. According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were:
  1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
    Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
  2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
    Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
  3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
    Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
  4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
    Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
  5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
    Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
  6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
    Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
  7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
    Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
  8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
    Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
  9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
    Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
  10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: offensive language; racism
Have you read a banned book lately?

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Did you say FREE?



Stop right there!  Iron Man is entreating you to join us for our FREE Saturday Matinees which take place in the Library Lecture Hall at 2:00pm.  This Saturday we will be showing Marvel's The Avengers, rated PG13.  Visit our web site to see a listing of future titles.  Please feel free to BYOP (Bring Your Own Popcorn).

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Down East, With a Bronx Accent

Last week I drove 5 1/2 hours to vacation in Down East Maine. It is a tedious ride that was greatly enlivened by listening to Garry Marshall narrate his audiobook, My Happy Days In Hollywood. Marshall is the legendary producer/director who gave us “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley” and “Mork & Mindy," "The Princess Diaries," and "Pretty Woman". He is an  unusual choice for a narrator, given his gravelly Bronx inflected, occasionally booming way of speaking, but it effectively brings to life the story of a sickly young boy who just wants to entertain people. He learned that lesson early when he asked his vivacious mother what boring was and she crisply answered, "your father".  Garry has a knack for describing famous people in the kindest ways, you will feel like you have gotten to know Julia Roberts, Julie Andrews, Richard Gear, Anne Hathaway, and Garry's difficult sister Penny, who became famous as Laverne. I am curious to read Penny Marshall's new biography, My Mother Was Nuts to get her perspective on her family. It sounds like she had a tough childhood. According to Garry, his mother decided Penny was trouble the minute she was born.


Thursday, September 13, 2012

Inspiration

I have been intrigued by Philip Roth's efforts to get the Wikipedia page about um...Philip Roth changed.  The problem is with the assertion that the book The Human Stain was inspired by the life of Anatole Broyard.  Mr. Roth claims that this is not substantiated by fact and I would think he should know.  An attempt to correct this error "was met with an Aug. 25 letter from the English Wikipedia Administrator, who stood firm in requiring secondary sources, despite understanding that 'that the author is the greatest authority on their own work.'"  I believe "requiring a secondary source" is great in the majority of cases, but I would think even Wikipedia would bend a bit when confronted by Philip Roth himself.  What I really want to know is how do you get a secondary source to prove an inspiration?  Life is so complicated.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Is Your Head in the Clouds?

Last week while I was on vacation I went to visit my mother, an eighty- year old, retired school librarian. I brought along my current favorite thing, my new iPad. I thought she would be thrilled to see how many books can be downloaded and from how many sources and how she could get free e-books from her public library in Massachusetts without leaving her chair. She seemed skeptical that such a small device could hold so much, so I attempted to explain the concept of the “cloud”. Now, I’m not sure I understand the “cloud” all that well, but I have no problem taking that leap of faith because I want all those books, all the time. Luckily, my mother seemed to get it at least as well as I did but she jumped on the privacy issue right off the bat. “Can anyone see what’s in my cloud?’ I rolled my eyes (teenage habits die hard). “It’s password protected,” I told her. She was skeptical, at best. “I would not want anyone to know what I was reading.” I told her she was reading the same thing every other eighty- year lady in the country was reading, Nora Roberts. She told me not to be “fresh.” “But,” I said, “you can read all night without a book light or bedside lamp“. “Oh, your father will sleep through anything.” And on and on it went until I skulked away with my beloved iPad tucked under my arm. Fine, see if I give her one for Christmas, so there! But the entire conversation made me think all the way home. My book life is an open book. I don’t care one bit if everyone knows what I have read. In fact I volunteer that information daily; I loved that book, I hated that book, I read a book I think you would like, Fifty Shades of Grey, yup, I read it. We guard our patrons’ privacy like hawks but ours… not so much.

By the time I reach eighty (I hope) that “cloud” thing will have been replaced with something new and even more amazing and it will be another leap of faith. I hope I take it!

BTW She did like the movie I made of her grand-dog licking the screen every time I said, give Grandma a kiss. So, there is still hope for that iPad under the Christmas tree.

Friday, September 07, 2012

New eBooks Available Only to DPL Cardholders

As we mentioned previously, the Dover Public Library has joined a special program called Overdrive Advantage to cut down your waiting time for popular downloadable books. We are ordering additional copies of popular titles that will be available only to Dover Public Library cardholders. Just make sure to log in to NH Downloadable Books before you begin searching the site. If you don't log in, you won't be able to find the DPL Overdrive Advantage titles. Any titles that are exclusively owned by the Dover Public Library will have an adjacent symbol that indicates Overdrive Advantage. 

We ordered some more titles so here is the updated list of eBooks and audiobooks that are available only to DPL cardholders.



Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain eBook

Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cooke audiobook

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins audiobook

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins  audiobook

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins  audiobook

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  eBook

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith eBook

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James eBook

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James eBook

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James eBook

Defending Jacob by William Landay  eBook

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin eBook

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin eBook

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin eBook

A feast of Crows by George R.R. Martin eBook

Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin eBook

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern eBook

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen  eBook

Criminal by Karin Slaughter eBook

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed eBook



 

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

New eBooks Available at NH Downloadable Books

Title Author(s)
Absolutely Lucy Ilene Cooper, Amanda Harvey
All Summer Long Susan Mallery
Almost Amish Kathryn Cushman
An Open Heart The Dalai Lama, Nicholas Vreeland
And When She Was Good Laura Lippman
At the House of the Magician Mary Hooper
The Aztec Code Stephen Cole
The Barcelona Brothers Carlos Zanon, John Cullen
Berried to the Hilt Karen MacInerney
Beyond the Night Joss Ware
The Blackhope Enigma Teresa Flavin
Blades of Winter G. T. Almasi
Blood Eye (Raven Giles Kristian
Bloodchild Octavia E. Butler
Bullied Carrie Goldman
The Chocolate Thief Laura Florand
Christmas At Hartford Hall Fenella J. Miller
Close Enough to Touch Victoria Dahl
Completely Smitten Susan Mallery
Cross Country James Patterson
Dark Places Gillian Flynn
Dearie Bob Spitz
Deep Down Karen Harper
Defiance C. J. Redwine
The Devil in Silver Victor LaValle
Devil Said Bang Richard Kadrey
The Dog Stars Peter Heller
Don't Turn Around Michelle Gagnon
Elemental Brigid Kemmerer
Erasing Time C. J. Hill
Every Day David Levithan
Fool's Errand Robin Hobb
Friends Forever Danielle Steel
Going Organic Can Kill You Staci McLaughlin
The Great Mortality John Kelly
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J.K. Rowling, Mary Grandpré
In Cold Blood Truman Capote
The Inn at Rose Harbor Debbie Macomber
Iron's Prophecy Julie Kagawa
Isolation Dan Wells
The Kill Order (Maze Runner Prequel) James Dashner
A Lady by Midnight Tessa Dare
Last to Die Tess Gerritsen
The Last Victim Karen Robards
Liar & Spy Rebecca Stead
The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch
Loving a Lost Lord Mary Jo Putney
Lucy on the Loose Ilene Cooper, Amanda Harvey
Lucy's Tricks and Treats Ilene Cooper, David Merrell
The Mad Lord's Daughter Jane Goodger
The Map of Lost Memories Kim Fay
The Midwife of Hope River Patricia Harman
Miss Me When I'm Gone Emily Arsenault
Mockingbird Chuck Wendig
Nightingale Way Emily March
No Longer A Gentleman Mary Jo Putney
The Orchardist Amanda Coplin
The Pigeon Pie Mystery Julia Stuart
Return to Atlantis Andy McDermott
Return to Grace Karen Harper
Return to Willow Lake Susan Wiggs
The Rise of Nine Pittacus Lore
The Roots of the Olive Tree Courtney Miller Santo
A Season of Love Amy Clipston
See Jane Score Rachel Gibson
The Shadow Queen Rebecca Dean
Starling Lesley Livingston
The Stranger I Married
Sweet Spot Susan Mallery
Sweet Talk Susan Mallery
The Ugly Duchess Eloisa James
The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. Nichole Bernier
The Uninvited Heather Graham
Vampire Hunter D, Volume 1 Hideyuki Kikuchi, Saito Takaki
Vampire Hunter D, Volume 2 Hideyuki Kikuchi, Saito Takaki
The Way to a Duke's Heart Caroline Linden
When It Happens to You Molly Ringwald
When Lightning Strikes Brenda Novak
You Don't Want To Know Lisa Jackson

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Library Hours

Remember, we're back on full-day Saturdays starting this week!  9am to 5pm every Saturday with free movie matinees at 2pm in the Lecture Hall!  This week The Lorax--click here for a full movie schedule.