What's in a Name? Part 2

I posted a pseudonym quiz last Thursday, and here are the answers:

Emily Bronte wrote as Ellis Bell
(and Anne Bronte wrote as Acton Bell)
Charles Dickens also wrote as Boz

Eric Arthur Blair is better known as George Orwell

James Alfred Wight is James Herriot

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson is Lewis Carroll

Agatha Christie also wrote as Mary Westmacott

and my personal favorite is that Anne Rice was born Howard Allen O'Brian

Can You Watch My Fish; and other questions at a full service library

I never know what sort of questions I will get each day; you expect that at the Reference Desk. However, the Circulation Librarians certainly won the prize for the most unusual question last week when one of our patrons said he couldn’t take his fish home with him and would we mind watching it for him? Sure enough, he had a small glass bowl with a very disgruntled looking fish in it. I found myself looking around for a hidden camera. Would the Cat in the Hat be walking in next? Having no policies in place to guide us in answering fish sitting queries we agreed. However when he came back the next day to ask for another day of fish sitting we had to politely decline. Who knows where this could lead? Would there be hamsters trundling through the gardening section, kittens frolicking past the knitting books, and a pony on the lawn? While we do pride ourselves in offering a vast array of services, sadly, pet sitting is no longer one of them.

I wonder what I will be asked tomorrow….

Jane-Stop This Crazy Thing!

No, I don't want to talk to you of the Jetsons episodes but something much more serious and insidious. Yes, it's Jane Austen. She is infiltrating society at an alarming pace. How many versions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibility can we take? I was never so disappointed as when someone pointed out to me that the plot of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary was a remake of Pride and Prejudice. Way to ruin a good movie. And then there are the books that take off from there... Books mimicking Austen or about Austen lovers, The Jane Austen Book Club (movie soon to be shown at our fair library), Austenland, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, etc. Do you know that when you type Jane Austen in the library catalog as topic, you pull up 87 different items including I Have Found It, a movie described as an Indian version of Sense and Sensibility? On and on it goes. But it isn't really the books and movies that annoy me-it's the Janeites themselves. Every time a book or a movie comes up to the front desk to be checked out, it begins. "Oooh, P & P! Don't you just love Colin Firth as Darcy?"(Duhhh, who wouldn't like Colin Firth as Quasimodo?) " And what about Elizabeth's response to her father in Chapter 13, pg 108, paragraph 5, line 1-3? She's so witty. I wish I could think of things to say like that..." Well I hate to break it to you- she didn't say that. Jane Austen sat for hours with a cup of strong black tea thinking of the perfect thing to say. That's why it's intelligent and witty. I say enough is enough. There are tons of I love Jane sites on the Internet but I have yet to find an I hate Jane one. But I have hope. I have a cause. Jane haters unite! See you on the Internet. P.S. To those who looked up the aforementioned reference-gotcha!

Be an Informed Traveler

One of my favorite blogs to peruse is Arthur Frommer Online. If the names sounds familiar its because Arthur Frommer is a renowned travel expert and publishes Frommer’s travel guides. His blog is full of useful tips on travel bargains, helpful travel search engines, government regulations affecting travel, and new trends in travel. One of his latest tips is, “If you're renting a car in the U.S.A. and not using BreezeNet.com, you're paying too much. BreezeNet.com is a comparison service that searches the prices of up to 50 car rental companies (including purely local ones) and then tells you where you can get the best deal for the dates when you need wheels.” If you are planning a vacation, this blog is well worth checking out.

"Dover Reads" Kick-Off Celebration

"Dover Reads" is a citywide reading project, sponsored by the Dover School District Community Involvement Committee, which encourages everyone to read the same book to promote a sense of community and the joy of reading. This year, Dover will be reading Tuttle’s Red Barn: the story of America’s oldest family farm written by Richard Michelson and illustrated by Caldecott Award winner, Mary Azarian. (Yes, this is the story of Dover's very own Tuttle's Red Barn!)

All are welcome to join us for the sixth annual "Dover Reads" kick-off celebration on Thursday, February 14th in the Dover City Hall Auditorium @ 4:00pm. Special activities and events, such as the annual essay contest, the "Math Counts" contest, a vacation week craft at the "Make-it, Take-it" craft table in the library's Children's Room, and the final celebration and awards ceremony, will be announced.

Come See the Valentines from the Thom Hindle Photographica Collection

Thom Hindle is a nationally recognized collector of photographica and has been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers, and books. You can see his collection of valentines with a photographic theme in the Reference Room. All the valentines feature a photographer or camera; many are mechanical valentines; pull a tab and a figure or object moves.

What's in a Name?

Recently I was ruminating on the bizarre practice of famous authors writing under pseudonyms, pen names, nom de plumes, whatever you want to call them. I was trying to think of possible reasons for doing this. Do they find themselves so closely associated with a certain genre that fans would be disappointed to read something else? During the 18th century pen names were used if the writing was controversial. Ben Franklin wrote as Silence Dogood, Alice Addertongue, amongst others. Of course some women wrote as men because of the social codes of the day—George Eliot for example (real name Mary Ann Evans) and George Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin—pen name seems a good idea in this case). I ran across another author that had eleven pseudonyms—seems a bit much. The popular young adult author Meg Cabot started a new series under the name Jenny Carroll. The first book just has the name Jenny Carroll but subsequent volumes said “from the popular author of the Princess Diaries”--sounds to me like Jenny Carroll wasn’t doing so well on her own. Here are a few current popular authors writing under pseudonyms: Janet Evanovich as Steffie Hall, Stephen King as Richard Bachman. Jayne Anne Krentz as Amanda Quick and others, Barbara Mertz as Barbara Michaels and Elizabeth Peters, Eleanor Wilder as Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb, and Dean Koontz as Deanna Dwyer and K.R. Dwyer.

See if you can match up the real names with the pseudonyms below, check back next week for the answers:

Real Name:
Charles Dickens
Emily Bronte
Eric Arthur Blair
James Alfred Wight
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
Agatha Christie
Howard Allen O'Brian

Pseudonyms:
Mary Westmacott
Ellis Bell
Boz
George Orwell
Lewis Carroll
James Herriot
Anne Rice

Whatever You Do, Don't Run

Whatever You Do, Don’t Run by Peter Allison

Peter Allison has been charged by elephants, threatened by badgers, squeezed by pythons, and swam with elephants. As a safari guide in remote Africa he rarely has a boring day. His stories are short and often humorous. After being tormented for days by a group of monkeys who used his tent roof as a trampoline, Peter had the brilliant idea of scaring them off with a toy leopard, the monkey’s natural enemy.

I ran back to my tent, where the monkeys were in full swing. They scampered into the branches at my approach, but didn’t move to far from their game. They just sat bobbing and swaying, adding an occasional “Kwo!” which I was convinced was laughter.

“Kwo yourself,” I said, and from under the scarf whipped out the toy—a rather poor representation of a leopard, but it was enough to put the heebie-jeebies into the monkeys. They went berserk. “Kwe! Kwe, kwe, kwe, kwe, kwe! Kwe! The whole troop now moved away a few trees, but still watched the predator I held in my hand. I tossed it from side to side, and the pitch of their calls went up an octave. I was amazed at their gullibility, but took great pleasure in it and derived even more at their reaction when I threw the toy into the air. The whole troop called “Kwe!” in unision; one even fell off his branch. Then they fled, yelling a chorus of “Kwekwekwekwe!,” as they went, and I imagined they were saying, “Holy crap! Did you see that? A flying leopard!”

This is fast, enjoyable read. A good choice for reluctant readers.

The Always Entertaining Daniel Pinkwater

I was listening to NPR Weekend Edition Saturday recently, and Daniel Pinkwater was on discussing children’s literature with Scott Simon. For those of you not familiar with Mr. Pinkwater here is a description from his web site:

“Trying to adequately describe Daniel Pinkwater is a Sisyphean task, much akin to describing the shape of a four-dimensional hypercube, or an eggplant. In brief, he is the author and sometimes illustrator of over 80 (and growing) wildly popular books and is also regularly heard on National Public Radio's All Thing Considered and Weekend Edition Saturday, where he reviews exceptional kids' books with host Scott Simon. Said books usually go on to become best-selling classics.”

Anyhow, while listening to this very entertaining segment Mr. Pinkwater mentioned that the general public can access free audio versions of some of his books on his web site. It is a small number of books at present but apparently will continue to grow. Access the audio portion of his site here http://www.pinkwater.com/podcast/ and follow the arrow that leads to the free audio books. The audios are offered through a Creative Commons license—let’s hope more authors follow his lead.

Read one book and call me in the morning…

The English newspaper The Guardian has a fascinating article on shelters, neurological rehab units, psychiatric wards, and hospitals using book groups as therapy for people with learning disabilities, Alzheimers, mental health problems; prisoners, recovering drug-addicts, nurses and carers. They are using bibliotherapy as an “experiment in healing, or, to put it less grandiosely, an attempt to see whether reading can alleviate pain or mental distress.” If you have tried the Library Worth Calculator you know how much money the Library save you every year. One thing we didn’t think to factor in was our capacity to restore well being to readers.

Gone Gardening

Yes I know it's the dead of winter. The wind is blowing, the snow is falling, and the books that come into the library are icy cold. It's enough to make a gal give up her shovel and hoe. However help for the garden addict is at hand. Along with the many garden catalogs that have started to arrive in our mailboxes, the library also has many books to inspire and appease your garden jones. Now is the time to plan and dream and unlike the catalogs-it's free. One of my all time favorite books to linger over during the winter is Tasha Tudor's Garden by Tovah Martin. The beautiful photography and the hope that one day if I'm very good, work hard and keep up spinal strength and strong knees I too might have this garden keeps me going back every time. Another book with wonderful pictures is Cox's Landscape with Roses. The Reader's Digest Country Garden by Charlie Ryrie and the Perennial Gardener's Design Primer are also full of ideas. If you are into herbs, a fun book to dip into is Phyllis Shaudy's Herbal Treasures. Lots of projects, planting ideas and recipes. If you really want to take a step back from reality, a fellow gardener suggested The Gardens of the National Trust. (Procrastinators and lazy gardeners need not apply) Here you will find pictures of the famous white garden at Hidcote and many of the lesser known gardens. Also that a huge mound of yew is called a tump. Who knew? A bluebell woods anyone?

Book Sale News

We now have room to offer books for sale year round! Make sure to check out our ongoing book sale in the Internet Room. Hardcover books are $3, soft cover books are $2, paperbacks and media are $1. All proceeds go to the Friends of the Dover Library.

The Friends will also hold their Spring sale this year beginning April 26 as well as their annual Fall book sale beginning the last weekend in October.

The War Tapes

The library's next Wednesday Evening Feature Film will be The War Tapes, winner of the 2006 prize for best documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival. The War Tapes is a unique film in that it is the first movie filmed by front line soldiers in Iraq. Sergeant Steve Pink is a wisecracking carpenter who aspires to be a writer. Sergeant Zack Bazzi is a Lebanese-American college student who loves to travel and is fluent in Arabic. Specialist Mike Moriarty is a father who seeks honor and redemption. Part journal, part jokebook, part witness, the film offers a view of war rarely seen from the inside out. We learn what the soldiers are thinking every step of the way, from their views on the media's coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom to how they miss loved ones back home. Join us on Wed., Feb. 6th at 6:00pm in the Library Lecture Hall for this unique perspective of the Iraq War.

Escape to Africa

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda
The premise of this book intrigued me. After serving as an ambulance driver in France during WWI and seeing her fiancé die in battle, a young woman travels to Africa to solve the mystery of her fiancé’s father’s suspicious death, and find his long lost half brother. Jade del Cameron is a modern woman, with bobbed hair, great courage, a great shot, and a disregard for convention. In order to find out the truth, she must outwit stuffy British colonials and a witch doctor with the power to control the deadly animals of Africa. She faces down charging lions and lingering shell shock with the help of her outspoken friend Lady Beverly Dunbury, and a taciturn Somali gun bearer. The only mark against this novel was its heroine’s improbable name Jade del Cameron. I look forward to reading about her further adventures on the Dark Continent.

What is your library worth to you?

One of our librarians recently came across a library worth calculator on a Maine library’s web site. This calculator was designed to put a dollar amount on the goods and services that you take advantage of from your library. How it works is you are required to think about your yearly use of the library in terms of how many books, DVDs, music CDs, etc. that you borrow; how many programs you attend; how many hours you use our Internet computers or wireless access; etc. We were intrigued enough to look into adapting the calculator to our library, and with a little help from some friends we did just that. Follow this link to calculate what the Dover Public Library is worth to you on a yearly basis. My own use came to a whopping $4,190—what a geek, and I had co-workers that came in even higher--even geekier (my spell checker says this isn’t a word, but I think it is). With the price of books, magazines, DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks…it is no wonder that the dollar figure can climb so high. Follow this link to see what the DPL is worth to you and we would love to hear what you came up with.

The Library Will be Closed Monday, January 21

Monday, January 21st the library will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

"From the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire, let freedom ring. From the mighty mountains of New York, let freedom ring. From the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania, let freedom ring. But not only that: Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi." From the "I Have a Dream" speech, Aug. 28, 1963.

Try This Tough Guy

One of the Library staff members has been raving about Bob Trueluck’s series about Florida Private Investigator, Duncan Sloan. She says they are reminiscent of Dashiel Hammett with a noir atmosphere and terse sentences. So if you like to read about tough guys with a heart of gold; give this offbeat series a try.

"Despite the up-to-date contemporary setting, Truluck's style recalls that of Mickey Spillane in its straight-ahead, get-it-done fashion. The dialogue crackles with staccato sentences, flip wit, the ever-present tension of violence and sex. Readers can expect a nonstop thrill ride with a skilled driver at the wheel, and lots of collateral damage before the checkered flag." Publishers Weekly

Literary Awards Announced

While we were digging out from the snow the American Library Association was announcing the 2008 award winners for youth literature. Here is a run down of the winners:

Newbery Medal
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Winner: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, written by Laura Amy Schlitz
Honor books: Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt, and Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson.

Caldecott Medal

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Winner: The Invention of Hugo Cabret, illustrated by Brian Selznick.
Honor books: Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine, First the Egg, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, illustrated and written by Peter Sís, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, illustrated and written by Mo Willems.

Printz Award
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.
Winner: The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean.
Honor Books: Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet, by Elizabeth Knox, One Whole and Perfect Day, by Judith Clarke, Repossessed, by A. M. Jenkins (on order), and Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath, by Stephanie Hemphill (on order).

Calling All Artists

The Library is always looking for local craftspeople and artists who would like to display their work at the Library throughout the year. We specifically need some pictures for our bare walls this winter. If you are interested please contact Sandra Erdmann.

New Downloadable Audio Books

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

Title	Author
Adam Canfield of the Slash	Winerip, Michael
Adam Canfield Watch Your Back!	Winerip, Michael
Best of Gunsmoke Volume 1	RadioClassics, Inc. © 2005
Blue Heaven	Box, C. J.
Dragon Harper	McCaffrey, Anne
Exile	Patterson, Richard North
Last Call	Grippando, James
Secrets of a Proper Lady	Alexander, Victoria
Stumbling on Happiness	Gilbert, Daniel
Gods Behaving Badly	Phillips, Marie
In Defense of Food	Pollan, Michael
Precious Blood	Hayes, Jonathan
Size 12 is Not Fat	Cabot, Meg