An Author Does Good

Stephen King, more famous for terrifying readers, has also become known for his willingness to donate the money he earned through writing horror to good works. This Christmas he and his wife, writer Tabitha King, are making sure their local National Guardsmen can spend the holidays with their families.

As the Bangor Daily News reports,

"Stephen and Tabitha King had no problem donating money to ensure that the 150 members of Bravo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Unit could come home for the holidays.

They did have a slight problem with the requested amount, though.

“Steve is such a numbers person,” said Julie Eugley, one of the author’s personal assistants. “When we were approached for $13,000, he thought that number was a little unlucky. He didn’t want any bad whammies associated with these troops.”

Way to go, Mr. and Mrs. King.

Books Into Movies

Lately, there have been a slew of new movies that are based on books. Here are some recent or upcoming releases and the books from which they’ve been adapted:

Ø Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin is now the film "Invictus" with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
Ø The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis is the Sandra Bullock dramatization of right tackle Michael Oher’s football career and upbringing.
Ø Up in the Air is a 2001 novel by Walter Kirn and opening soon is the highly-touted film of the same name starring George Clooney.
Ø Alice Seybold’s haunting novel, The Lovely Bones, is due out mid-January and will star Saoirse Ronan as the 14-year old murder victim.
Ø Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s picture book, Where the Wild Things Are, was released in theatres to critical acclaim in October.
Ø Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs is a hilarious and popular children’s book by Judi Barrett and now an entertaining new animated film.
Ø The Fantastic Mr. Fox, also featuring George Clooney (as a voice), is getting rave reviews as an animated movie based on the Roald Dahl children’s favorite.
Ø Push by Sapphire has been reinvented as the movie "Precious", a 4-star film starring talented newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and Mariah Carey as you’ve never seen her.
Ø And watch for Dennis Lehane’s Boston-based Shutter Island, debuting mid-February starring Leo DiCaprio.

But most important, NEVER judge a book by its movie! (The book is always better!!)

Last Minute Holiday Shopping

In my frantic bid to finish my holiday shopping, I was browsing online for bookplates. You know those things that you can put on the inside front cover of books that say "This book belongs to___". You know, the things that the librarian in your life would get you as a gift. Well, as a kid I thought they were pretty cool so there are several little kids I know getting these as a gift. However, I didn't like any of the ones I saw available, but I did happen upon a very, very cool web site called My Home Library. I am so excited about this because they give you free use of their bookplates (except for commercial use), and they have lots and lots of them to choose from. Some are from top children's illustrators like Helen Oxenbury! I think this is such a great present because it will only cost the price of some stickers and your time, but you can choose different ones for each person depending on their taste--pretty special. Take a look; you won't be sorry.

You Learn Something New Every Day

Today I was ask if we had a braille collection of books for kids. Unfortunately we don't, but I said I would look into what the State of New Hampshire library has. The State Library has a lot of resources that are available to New Hampshire residents such as their Talking Books Program, and yes their braille collection. Follow the link to the Talking Books Program and click on the Kids Catalog to search for braille or audio titles just for kids! I was very excited to learn about this service (nerdy librarian) and just wanted to pass it on.

Kill A Watt Energy Detectors

The Dover Public Library now has 6 Kill A Watt Energy Detectors available for check out. It is very easy to use--just plug it in at your home or office, and find out exactly how much electricity all your appliances and electronic devices are using. It's the first step to lower electric bills (who could complain about that) and to a smaller carbon footprint! The Detectors were made available by nhsaves, and you can visit their web site at http://www.nhsaves.com/.

Funny NYT Article: 10 Strangest Book Titles

Follow this link http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2009/12/the-10-stangest-books-in-the-english-language.html to read Daniel Finkelstein's "Comment Central" column in the New York Times about ABE Books and their weekly choice of the "Weird Book of the Week." Finkelstein adds his own suggestions for the top 10 strangest book titles including:

• The Bible Cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps
• How You Can Bowl Better Using Self-Hypnosis

The book covers pictured on the site are also hilarious. Be sure to look at the cover of "Dead Pet": this has to be a joke!

Judging A Book

We all know that you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover. However, the cover does play an important role in catching your attention. The cover of this book annoys me every time I see it because it is so unappealing. Is this a cover that would make you want to pick it up and see what it is about? I think not. I was pleased to see the paperback version is a little more inspired. I have to give kudos to the designer of the book cover below. It catches my eye consistently. Can you figure out what is so odd about this face? I felt compelled to analyze the image until I did.

That Silly Tiger

I brought home yet another bagful of picture books for my son last night--thank goodness for the library! When we read The Tiger Who Came for Tea by Judith Kerr I was shocked at his reaction--uncontrollable falling down gasping for air giggling. It is rather cute when the tiger drinks directly from the teapot, but I didn't expect that kind of reaction. It was extremely satisfying to see him enjoying a book so much, but I was a bit jealous because I couldn't remember when I've had that kind of strong reaction to a book. David Sedaris does make me laugh out loud (though I have never fallen over), and on the flip-side Book Thief by Markus Zusak made me cry like a baby, but it just doesn't seem the same. Am I in a book rut? What books have you reacted strongly to? I'd love to hear from you.

Hidden Talents

I bet you didn't know that the Circulation Librarians are break-dancing fools. If you haven't caught one of their impromptu performances at the Circulation Desk, take a look here for some Christmas cheer.

Damned by Faint Praise

One of my co-workers made me laugh with her latest book review. We were talking about The Magicians by Lev Grossman, which was a huge literary hit this summer but met with mixed reviews here at the DPL. Her assessment was brief, "I didn't hate it."

Don't you just want to run out and read it now?

You Could Win a Twilight Basket

Enter the raffle to win this lovely gold gift basket with all four books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. Just fill out a slip at the Circulation Desk and drop it in the box by the basket. Its free and you could make someone very happy with this gift!

Ho, Ho, Ho

Join us this Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2:00pm for a showing of the movie Four Christmases. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn as an upscale, happily unmarried San Francisco couple who find themselves socked in by fog on Christmas morning, their exotic vacation plans morph into the family-centric holiday they had, until now, gleefully avoided. Out of obligation--and unable to escape--they trudge to not one, not two, but four relative-choked festivities, increasingly mortified to find childhood fears raised, adolescent wounds reopened... and their very future together uncertain.

All of our movies are free and open to the public. Click here to view a complete list of movies we will be showing.

Friends of the Library Christmas Booksale!

The Friends of the Dover Public Library will be holding a one-week Christmas Book and Gift Sale from December 14-18 adjacent to the library’s Main Desk.
A large selection of holiday-themed books will be available, priced from $1.00 to $3.00, and includes Christmas stories, decorating ideas and cookbooks. A varied assortment of Christmas music and carols on CD will also be for sale at just $1.00 each.
In addition, sturdy canvas “Dover Public Library” bookbags, Dover notecards, and 1888 reprint Dover maps are available and would make great gifts or stocking stuffers.
The Friends of the Dover Public Library always welcome new members to join their organization ($10 annually; or $7 for seniors). The group’s next meeting is Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 1pm in the Library Lecture Hall.

Cormac McCarthy's Typewriter Up for Auction

I just read in a New York Times article that Cormac McCarthy's Olivetti Lettera typewriter, the one that he wrote all of his writings to date on, is being auctioned off. "I HAVE TYPED ON THIS TYPEWRITER EVERY BOOK I HAVE WRITTEN INCLUDING THREE NOT YET PUBLISHED" Apparently after 46 years of use it is "showing signs of age." Cheap thing! So if you are still looking for that perfect holiday present for the literary type on your list look no further. The Christie's auction will take place this Friday, and they believe it will fetch between $15,000 and $20,000. Have no fear though Mr. McCarthy has a practically brand new Olivetti Lettera typewriter, and so the writing will continue.

Last Chance to Check Out Children's Books

The Children's Room is preparing to close for their new carpeting. There are still some Children's materials available for check out today. Bluebeary looks very sad that he won't be having any visitors tomorrow but the Children's librarians are hoping they will be able to open again Thursday afternoon. Please call before you come visit if you are planning on coming in Thursday!

Happy Thanksgiving

The Library will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. The Library will be open from 9 - 5 on Saturday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Multi-tasking

I was at the grocery store Sunday afternoon and was amused to see several children being wheeled through the aisles in those super long grocery carts busily reading books and even doing homework! I wish I could read a book while grocery shopping. Anybody else spotted kids reading while moms shop?

National Book Award Winners Announced!

National Book Foundation recently announced the 2009 National Book Award recipients and the winners are...

Fiction:

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Non-fiction:

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles

Poetry:
Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop

Young People's Literature:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

What's Happening?

Skitter & Skatter, the library gerbils, are wondering what is going on in the Children's Room. The Folk & Fairy Tale books that surround their home are all boxed up and stacked around them. They seem to be thinking, "Are we next?". Well, they don't have to worry. Their home is on a built-in shelf that does not need to be moved for the new carpets to be installed. They can sit back, relax and have a front row seat to the action.
The Children's Room will be closed for a couple of days during the week of November 30th while the movers and carpet installers are here.

Remember, you can help us out by borrowing 10 books (or more) before the move (the less we have to pack, the better!).

I am NOT making this up!

The library staff has been working extremely hard this week, staying ahead of the furniture movers who are staying ahead of the carpet installers. If you hadn't heard, we are getting 15,000 square feet of new carpeting! Our staff's job is to remove all the books from the bookshelves, relocate them to another area, then move the items back to those bookshelves when the new carpet is in place. It's been a lot of lifting, shifting, and shelving! So, as I was inspecting the newly laid carpet in the Lecture Hall, a glint of color caught my eye. There was a small book tucked behind one of the baseboards, right in the area where we'd just concluded the annual booksale: the children's book section, to be precise. I pulled the book out from behind the heating unit. And this "Golden Book" is what I found. Look at the title! Isn't that so very timely and extremely weird at the same time? Is it a sign?