I Have No Reservations About This

I don’t know what it is about Anthony Bourdain. He is opinionated, brash, often foul mouthed, and yet I can’t help but like the guy. It must be that terrific sense of fun he has, as well as the straight shooting attitude. His books and his television show are always entertaining if quirky. His latest book No Reservations; Around The World On An Empty Stomach is no exception. No Reservations is a pictorial essay on Bourdain’s travels around the world, sampling all sorts of exotic meals. Its slightly cranky, brutally frank, and amusing, just like its author.

It's In to Write for Teens

I find it interesting when successful adult authors try their hand at books for teens. Are they simply bored and want to try something new? Do they want to feel like kids again? Who knows but I started thinking about this when Sherman Alexie’s first book for teens, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series, which includes The Angel Experiment, School’s Out –Forever, and Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, has been extremely popular. The Angel Experiment was a New Hampshire Flume Award nominee for 2007. FYI—the Flume Award is a New Hampshire book award for kids in grades 9-12. Here are some other adult authors that have strayed into the world of young adult literature:

Isabel Allende: City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, & Forest of the Pygmies

Michael Chabon: Summerland

Carl Hiaasen: Hoot & Flush

Alice Hoffman: The Foretelling & Incantation by Alice Hoffman

Nick Hornby: Slam

The Whole Dog Journal

The dog lovers in the Library are very excited to discover that the Library is now receiving the Whole Dog Journal. The Whole Dog Journal is like a Consumer Reports for anything canine. They do not take any advertising so they are free to review products critically and accurately. They cover equipment, training, and health issues. The February issue is going to cover one of their most popular topics; what are the best kibbles available for your companion. Make sure to check it out!

A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar

T is for Trespass is the 20^th title in Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone mystery series. The beloved series is twenty five years old now; A is for Alibi premiered in 1982. I wonder what title she will come up with for Z. Z is for Zip, Nada, No More? I would love to hear what titles you can come up with for the remaining books in the series!

A New Year...but No New School

I always get a bit nostalgic as the new year starts and I wish I could be starting a new semester. I am one of those foolish (or life-avoiding) people who could have stayed in school forever. I loved getting my new textbooks, the reading lists, the syllabus calendar, and even the assignments. Luckily, working in a library is a bit like being in school all the time and I can content myself with very entertaining books about life at school.
I think I fell in love with books about prep schools in the late '60s when I read Caroline Glyn's Don't Knock the Corners Off. Does anyone out there remember loving this book about life at boarding school by its brilliant and funny 15-year old author? I was in 6th grade and couldn't believe someone just a bit older than I could actually write this wonderful book! Anyway, Glyn's book started my infatuation with school stories ranging from A Separate Peace to The Chocolate War to, of course, the students at Hogwarts.
Here are some others in that category that may be less familiar but are awfully good too. They run a wide gamut from coming-of-age stories to humorous tales to sinister plots! All are Grade A+ reads!

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
The Headmaster's Dilemma by Louis Auchincloss
I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
The Headmaster Ritual by Taylor Antrim
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Still Undecided?

The Presidential Primary is January 8 and up to 40% Of New Hampshire voters still haven’t decided who they will vote for. If you are still tussling over the issue like me, these web sites may help you make up your mind.

Project Vote Smart 2008 Presidential Candidates
Washington Post 2008 Presidential Candidates
CNN Election Center 2008
PBS Vote 2008
New York Times Election Guide

Find out where to vote in Dover; polls are open from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM so plan accordingly. Not sure what ward you are in? Go to the street finder and type your street into the search box to find out.

New Year's Holiday Hours

The Library hours for the New Year's holiday will be:

Mon., Dec. 31 9am to 4pm
Tues., Jan. 1 Closed

Happy New Year to you all!

The Library is an Open Vault!

I heard a commercial on TV this morning announcing that some Disney "Classics" on DVD were going "back in the vault" on January 31. It's a great marketing campaign: Parents, you'd better buy these movies now before they're taken away from your kids forever (or at least until it's time for a re-release)! How can we deprive our children of Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, or The Chronicles of Narnia?

But wait! You don't have to buy these DVDs...

Your public library is an Open Vault! We have each of these films (and more) in our Children's Room and you can borrow them anytime you want! They will not be sent to Movie Purgatory until the next ad campaign. Always remember that libraries hold thousands of classic entertainment treasures for reading and viewing for all ages and you can bring them home for free! Libraries, like Disney, really do make wishes come true!

I Resolve to.....

The New Year is almost here and some of us have been making those dreaded New Year’s resolutions. Does the mere sound of the words put you into a panic? Have you ever managed to actually keep a New Year’s resolution? If you have you are amongst the minority. Statistics have shown the success rate to hover somewhere around 5%, but hey don’t let that stop you because someone has to make up that 5%--right! One of the top resolutions made is to--you guessed it-- lose weight. Having recently had a baby I know a little bit about losing weight and the trick is to find what works best for you--diet, exercise, a combination of both. The library has a great selection of books on dieting (look in 613.25) and books on low calorie cooking (look in 641.563). If exercise is your goal, and you are not a gym person (which I am not), check out our selection of exercise DVDs. Yoga, pilates, and belly dancing are few of the offerings we have. Go ahead and try something new it will help to make the cold winter months go by quicker, and hopefully you will lose a couple pounds in the deal. Good luck!

Not Yet Drown’d

Not Yet Drown’d by Peg Kingman

Catherine MacDonald is living a quiet life in 1820’s Scotland with her brother and her step daughter, Grace. Her husband and twin brother have both died leaving her unsure of her life’s purpose when a package arrives from India. It contains a beautiful shawl, unusual tea, and bagpipe music scores in her twin brother’s handwriting. Then a long lost relative of her husband’s, a headstrong, hard woman, comes to take Catherine’s beloved Grace back to America with her. Add to this a mysterious Indian woman who repeatedly comes to Catherine’s aid. Events build until Catherine is forced to flee to India with Grace, determined to find out what really happened to her twin brother.

This novel started off a little slowly, but it is well worth reading through the first few chapters to get to the exotic adventures that fill the rest of the book.

Funniest Titles of 2007

I must read 10,000 book reviews over the course of a year. Why I keep lists of some things baffles even me, but here are my Favorite Funny Titles from 2007. Most are fiction (with the majority being 'punny' mysteries), but there are a few non-fiction titles mixed in as well.

Duplicity Dogged the Dachshund by Blaize Clement (the 2nd Dixie Hemingway, petsitter, mystery)

Edward Trencom’s Nose: a novel of history, dark intrigue and cheese by Giles Milton (comic thriller set in a London cheese emporium)

Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him by Danielle Ganek (the NY art world as seen by a Soho gallerista)

Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box: cut yourself some slack and still raise great kids by Ann Dunnewold

An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke (the Emily Dickinson homestead fire was an accident, he swears)

Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair: the true misadventures of a 30-something who learned to knit after he split by Laurie Beasley Perry

If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs: a guide to understanding men by Big Boom (why would you trust the advice of an author named Big Boom?)

The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming by Lemony Snicket (great Christmas/Hanukkah story for ages 4-8)

I Am America (and So Can You) by Stephen Colbert (the host of The Colbert Report) ... we also have this on audio CD

The Da Da De Da Da Code by Robert Rankin (promises to leave Dan Brown fans “breathless”!)

Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck (hey, this title isn’t funny…who put this on the list?)

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (for teenagers)

Boobs: a guide to your girls by Elisabeth Squires (yes, it’s about breast health)

The Alphabet from A to Y, with Bonus Letter Z! by Steve Martin & Roz Chast (Martin’s other bestseller is Born Standing Up...also on audio CD)

The Barnacle Barb and her Pirate Crew series by Nadia Higgins which includes such titles as Pegleg Gets Stumped, Aye, my Eye!, Blimey, that’s Slimy, Walk the Plank, Plankton and Break a Sea-Leg, Shrimp Breath

Hell Hath No Curry by Tamar Myers (a Penn. Dutch mystery with recipes)... 10 other very funny titles available too!

Right From the Gecko by Cynthia Baxter (sequel to Who’s Kitten Who?)

Kilt Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett (a Scottish dancer sleuths)

Claws and Effect by Rita Mae Brown (the 9th Mrs. Murphy cat mystery)

Died in the Wool by Rett MacPherson (mystery at a textile factory)

Cries and Whiskers by Clea Simon (the 3rd Theda Krakow Boston-based mystery, following Cattery Row)

Antiques Maul by Barbara Allen (see also her Antiques Roadkill)

Trick My Truck But Don’t Mess with My Heart by LuAnn McLane (author of Dark Roots & Cowboy Boots...you get the idea)

Please feel free to add to this list!!!

Conundrum of the Day

We were surprised to see one of our patrons twice in the same day. She explained that we had called her cell phone to tell her that a book had come in for her. Since she was in the Library at the time and did not want to violate our cell phone policy, she did not answer her cell phone! Now that’s a good Do Bee.

Holiday Hours

The Library will be closed for the Christmas Holiday Monday, December 24 & Tuesday, December 25.

What Daemon Are You?

If you have seen the scenes from the movie The Golden Compass, you may have wondered about the Polar Bears, Monkeys, and Tigers called Daemons. They are not animals, pets, or demons. Daemons are the soul of a human in animal form. Who you are is reflected in the type of animal that appears as your Daemon. At the official website of The Golden Compass movie you can get your very own daemon by answering a short 20-question quiz. Just click on the Daemons tab, then choose "Meet Your Daemon". I am matched with a handsome lion. What kind of Daemon do you have?

If you love the movie, make sure to read the rest of the Dark Materials trilogy.

Banning Bonanza Burgeoning---What's Going on?

There've been a rash of censorship incidents at libraries lately, more than I've ever noticed at one time. What's going on? Is our society growing less tolerant of others' views or are books more viscerally objectionable?
Here's some of the books in the news recently:

• It's Perfectly Normal by Robie H. Harris was purposely kept overdue from a Lewiston, Maine library by a woman claiming the book was sexually graphic, with "amoral abnormal contents".
• Seacoast NH author Rodman Philbrick's The Last Book in the Universe was banned in an elementary school in Bellevue, California because it was about gangs. (Philbrick's The Young Man and the Sea was the "Dover Reads" book selection a couple years ago!)
• The enormously popular Golden Compass trilogy by Philip Pullman (now a hit movie) was pulled from shelves in Toronto, ONT and Oshkosh, WI for its alleged anti-Catholic bias.
• Similarly, a pastor in Wakefield, MA decreed that the Harry Potter books would not appear in his Catholic school library's collection.
• Sexy by Joyce Carol Oates was kept in the Boulder, MT High School library by a vote of 4-1 by a Reconsideration Committee. An English teacher there wanted the book removed for liberal use of the f-word and sexual themes.
• A board in Lower Macungie, PA voted to keep King and King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland on library shelves despite a petition by 40 residents citing the book's homosexual themes.
• An attempt to censor C.S. Adler's The Shell Lady's Daughter in the Campbell Co., WY elementary school was laid to rest by an 11-2 vote by a committee. The parent of a 4th grader had objected to the book's themes of "sexual thoughts, promiscuity, and suicide."
• The school board in Tuscaloosa County, AL voted to keep Ellen Wittlinger's Sandpiper in its high school library despite complaints about its "graphic language".

Now I confess that, other than the Harry Potter series, I haven't read any of these specific titles. But my views on the subject are simple. If you object to the material, don't read it. Remember that other people will want to read it, even if you don't. Keep an eye on what your children are reading and if you don't think it's appropriate for their age or maturity levels, feel free to ban it from your household. But your values may not be my values; your "objection threshholds" may be higher than mine. Every person must make the decision for himself or herself or their own family. That's why it's called The Freedom to Read!

New York Times Names 10 Best Books of 2007

The New York Times has named its top 10 books for 2007. Visit their web site to read the full book reviews. The library currently owns 6 of the titles and the rest are on order. Happy reading!

Fiction:

1. Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas. This first novel explores the fragmented personal histories behind four desperate days in a black writer’s life.
   
2. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. Translated by Anne Born. In this short yet spacious Norwegian novel, an Oslo professional hopes to cure his loneliness with a plunge into solitude.


3. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. Translated by Natasha Wimmer. A craftily autobiographical novel about a band of literary guerrillas.


4. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. Layoff notices fly in Ferris’s acidly funny first novel, set in a white-collar office in the wake of the dot-com debacle.


5. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. The author of “Jesus’ Son” offers a soulful novel about the travails of a large cast of characters during the Vietnam War.

Nonfiction:

1. Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. The author, a Washington Post journalist, catalogs the arrogance and ineptitude that marked America’s governance of Iraq.


2. Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Armstrong Kalish. Kalish’s soaring love for her childhood memories saturates this memoir, which coaxes the reader into joy, wonder and even envy.


3. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin. An erudite outsider’s account of the cloistered court’s inner workings.


4. The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley. Colley tracks the “compulsively itinerant” Marsh across the 18th century and several continents.


5. The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross. In his own feat of orchestration, The New Yorker’s music critic presents a history of the last century as refracted through its classical music.

New Dowloadable Audio Books

These downloadable Audio Books were just added this month. Happy listening!

Title	Author
Amazing Grace	Steel, Danielle
Born in Death	Robb, J.D.
I Am America And So Can You	Colbert, Stephen
Skipping Christmas	Grisham, John
Blood Memory	Iles, Greg
Cape Perdido	Muller, Marcia
The Ever-Running Man	Muller, Marcia
From the Corner of His Eye	Koontz, Dean
I Am Legend and Other Stories	Matheson, Richard
Neverwhere	Gaiman, Neil
The Sea	Banville, John
"T" is For Trespass	Grafton, Sue
The Abstinence Teacher	Perrotta, Tom
Blood Brothers	Roberts, Nora
A Christmas Beginning	Perry, Anne
Classic Crime Short Stories	Rendell, Ruth
Confessor	Goodkind, Terry
Evil Genius	Jinks, Catherine
A Free Life	Jin, Ha
The Highlander's Touch	Moning, Karen Marie
"J" Is For Judgment	Grafton, Sue
Noble Lies	Benoit, Charles
Rhett Butler's People	McCaig, Donald
A Single Shard	Park, Linda Sue
The Street of a Thousand Blossoms	Tsukiyama, Gail
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox	O'Farrell, Maggie
Winter Moon	Koontz, Dean

What Is Your Favorite Theme Song?

Remember how you felt when one of your favorite television theme songs came on? Now you can relieve many of those moments by browsing through the TV Theme Music website. Over 3000 tunes from all sorts of television shows, from the wistful Cheers theme to the raucously upbeat Banana Splits song are available on this fun website.

Merriam-Webster Announces the 2007 Word of the Year

The votes are in based on a combined list of twenty of the most frequently looked-up words and most popular submissions on Merriam-Webster OnLine.

I must confess I never heard of the winner.

"w00t (interjection) expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word "yay"."

The list contain words that are old and well know(conundrum), old and obscure (sardoodledum), and newish (blamestorm). Have some fun and try to work them into your conversations. I think the Circulation Librarian has used Pecksniffian several times already.

Don’t Ask Us if We Have J.K. Rowling’s Latest Book

We don’t and we won’t. For starters, it cost $4million dollars and that would empty the book budget for many years to come. J.K. Rowling only made seven copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The leather bound books are covered in semi precious stones. Six of the books will be given to those closely involved in the Harry Potter book series. The seventh was auctioned off today in London to benefit Rowling’s charity, Children's Voice.