Booksale Leftovers are now FREE!

We are at the tail end of our booksale, and all the leftovers are now FREE. Come in and haul them away--you can't beat the price!

Is It Too Soon for Christmas?

I don’t want to think about it yet but there are some happy Christmas elves here at the Library that would start playing Christmas music after Labor Day if we let them, and of course crafters need to start their projects before December. These folks will be pleased to know that hundreds of Christmas books and CDs now await them in the Browse Room, at the end of the Non-fiction books.

Medical Memoirs

There are thousands and thousands of families and individuals dealing with devastating physical or mental conditions which are chronic, life-changing, or long-term disorders. Most are kept private and only the bravest among us decide to publish their stories. It’s remarkable to me that some people have the strength and mental foresight not only to keep a record of their health struggles but then have the tenacity to write fascinating personal memoirs about how they coped and survived. Here are some of the recent best:

"Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy" by Geralyn Lucas (362.1969) is a charming, hilarious, yet very frank account of a 27-year-old’s battle with breast cancer. Even while losing her vibrancy and her looks, Geralyn’s journey will inspire anyone struggling with self-image or illness.

"Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips" by Kris Carr (616.994) is the written companion to Carr’s wonderful TLC TV documentary “Crazy Sexy Cancer”, composed after her diagnosis with rare liver tumors. She covers dating, sex, appearance, recipes, medical and holistic resources including young survivor support groups in this ultimately joyous memoir..

"Sick Girl" by Amy Silverstein (818.5) is fierce and provocative as it details the painful experiences of a young heart transplant recipient who now, at age 42, is a 17-year survivor. Silverstein chronicles her harrowing medical journey and readers can live her nightmare from the inside—an unforgettable and compelling experience.

"Never Give Up" by Tedy Bruschi (796.332) tells the inspiring story of the 31-year-old New England Patriot linebacker’s debilitating stroke, the surgery to repair a hole in his heart, his recovery, and eventual return, eight and a half months later, to the ranks of professional football. Go Pats #54!

"Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s" by John Elder Robison (362.196) tells the painful growing-up memoirs of a man who was not diagnosed with this highly-functioning type of autism until he was 40. Robison is Augusten Burroughs’s (“Running with Scissors”) brother so you may be already familiar with their dysfunctional family.

"My Lobotomy" by Howard Dully (617.481) heart-wrenchingly describes his 1960 brain surgery in which icepick-type instruments were inserted through his eye sockets to sever his frontal lobe and cure his supposed mental illness. Dully shows great courage in telling his story, especially about what drove his parents to such an unconscionable act.

"Born on a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet (362.196) is an engaging and intriguing first-person account into the mind of a high-functioning, 27-year-old autistic savant. Tammet learned Icelandic in a single week and recited pi up to the 22,514th digit. He also experiences synesthesia, which enables him to experience numbers and words as shapes, colors, textures and motions.

"The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness" by Elyn R. Saks (616.898) is the gripping memoir of a life spent grappling with hallucinations, medications, and psychoses, and one woman’s path toward coming to terms with her schizophrenia. Saks overcame much to now lead a full life as a law professor.

We’re happy to add that all of these authors are doing well! Good health to all!

The View from the Library

We are fortunate be situated in a lovely old Carnegie Library building. The icing on the cake is the often dramatic view we have of Dover’s City Hall, a much younger but still impressive building. I have seen City Hall obscured by large drifting snowflakes, threatened by lightning, and caressed by rainbows. Yesterday it was glowing with sunlight, against a backdrop of storm clouds.

The Guynd: a Scottish Journal by Belinda Rathbone

Do you dream of restoring a crumbling villa in Tuscany, a farmhouse in France, or a stately home in Great Britain? After Peter Mayle’s best-selling books on his life in Provence, many people had that dream, and some actually went out and lived it. Belinda Rathbone stumbled into her new life as the mistress of 400 acre estate in Scotland, complete with a decrepit Georgian mansion when she married John, Laird of Guynd. The house is in need of rescue, as is John. He is overwhelmed by the weight of hundreds of years of family history, and years of family stuff that has accumulated and no one dares discard. Belinda battles her husband’s compulsive need to save dusty piles of old curtains, pieces of linoleum, and shabby, stained clothes. ‘If the Scots are frugal then there is none more frugal than John. It’s not so much that he is averse to buying things, but that he will never throw anything away. “Trash,” “rubbish,” and “garbage” are simply not words in his vocabulary, except when he accused me of “creating trash”.’ You will feel as though you are witnessing the house come alive through Belinda’s efforts as she scrubs, repaints, redecorates, and renovates the Guynd. There are plenty of local characters to add flavor to her story, particularly among their troublesome tenants. This Scottish journal becomes the story of a marriage, as well as the story of a house. ““I knew when I married the man that I married the mansion.” My only complaint is that the book ends abruptly; I still want to know, “what happens next?”

Books to Movies

This fall there are a plethora of movies coming out that are based on books. Seems great but I am always suprised at how little publicity that the author of the original book gets when the movie comes out; most times it is not even mentioned that the film was based on a book. Scandalous! For me, that seems like a pretty important piece of information, but then again I am just a nerdy librarian. Do you think that if the general public knew that the movie was based on a book they might want to read the book afterwards? Probably not, but it is a hopeful thought. Anyway, here are some of the movies that are coming out:

• "Love in the Time of Cholera" based on the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel stars Benjamin Bratt and Javier Bardem.


• "Mist" is based on a story by Stephen King that appeared in "Dark Forces" and "Skeleton Crew".


• "Atonement" is based on the Ian McEwan novel, and the movie stars Keira Knightley and Vanessa Redgrave.


• "The Other Boleyn Girl" (great book, by the way) was written by Philippa Gregory, and is only one of her novels based on Henry VIII. The movie stars Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johansson.

And for the kids...

• "The Golden Compass" based on Philip Pullman's very popular Dark Materials series. The movie stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig (should 007 be in a kids movie?).


• "Charlie Wilson's War" based on the book by George Crile, and starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.

Book Sale Bargains: a buck a bag or box!

Prices have been reduced today to a dollar for a bag or box of books. There are still plenty of books to choose from in all categories, including children’s books. How ever you want to carry them out, it’s a bargain!

The Teenager that Made My Day

The Library has a suggestion box in the Teen Corner. We never know what will be waiting for us there: earnest ideas for improvements, pleas for certain books, or rude suggestions. This time we found a note that made us smile.

Halloween @ Your Library

Strange things happen here on Halloween. Don’t be surprised to see Librarians transformed into ghouls or patrons turned into pumpkins. Do you dare come to the Library today? It is a haunted place….Elizabeth Anne Leach was a librarian at the Dover Public Library from 1945 to 1959. During a trustees meeting she complained of not feeling well but refused to desert her post. She lay down on the ancient leather "fainting couch" and never woke again.

There are often mysterious noises in the library, particularly at closing, when the rooms are dark and silent. Sometimes strange things happen in the night. Books are moved, papers disappear or re-appear. When we hear the unexplained noises, the sound of leather shoes on wooden floors that are now covered by carpet, or the creak of a door opening in an empty room, we wish our gentle Miss Leach a good night and leave her to her library.

Reel Reads

While searching on Amazon I came across something I had never heard of before--book trailers. Book trailers are just like movie trailers except they are depicting the plot of a book--pretty cool. These book trailers were created by students at the New York Film Academy, for 3 young adult books: "Glass" by Ellen Hopkins, "Hacking Harvard" by Robin Wasserman, and "The Inner Circle" by Kate Brian. Follow this link to watch the videos, and if the trailers tempt you into wanting to read the books, "Glass" and "The Inner Circle" are currently available at the library, and "Hacking Harvard" will be in soon.

Book Sale Begins with a Rush!

The book sale got off to a great start. At 9am sharp bibliophiles charged up the staircase to search for treasures.

One clever patron even brought a little red wagon to load his finds into. It warms this librarian's heart to see people attending a book sale like it was a Filenes Bargain Basement extravaganza.

Don’t Forget the Book Sale Starts This Weekend!

Book sale starts Saturday, October 27, at 9am for Dover Public Library cardholders only. The general public is welcome Sunday, October 28 at 1pm.

Teen Corner Packed with Dozens of New Books

We have just received a HUGE delivery of new teen books, and they are now on display in the "Teen Corner" of the library. Here are a few of the titles that you can look forward to:

"Bec" by Darren Shan, this is part of the Demonata series
(perfect for Halloween)
"Extras" by Scott Westerfeld author of "Uglies" and "Pretties"
"Glass" by Ellen Hopkins author of the popular book "Crank"
"Nightrise" by Anthony Horowitz, book 3 of the Gatekeepers series
"What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know" by Sonya Sones for those of you who like her last novel in verse "What My Mother Doesn't Know"
"Wyvernhall" by Amelia Atwater-Rhode, volume 5 in The Kiesha’ra series

Book Sale Preparations Continue

Volunteers and staff members continue to unpack and organize scads of books. The Trustees Room has been dedicated to multimedia. It is full of audio books, music CDs and tapes, DVDs and videocassettes.

A table has been set up outside the Director's office to hold all the cookbooks.

This sale is so huge we simply don't have room for more books so we ask that you wait to bring any donations in until mid November. See you Saturday!

New Service for Book Groups!

Are you in a book club or discussion group? Are your members always hunting for multiple copies of a title so you can all read the same book? Would you rather not have to resort to purchasing your copy if an ‘early bird’ has already been checked out at the library?

Well, “Reads-to-Go” has all the solutions! We are pleased to join this consortium of NH librarians who are offering book groups the chance to borrow 15 paperback copies of a single title in a convenient travel bag. Our library has purchased “The Time Traveler’s Wife” book group kit which, besides the 15 copies, includes discussion questions, an author bio, and a handy-dandy sign-out sheet to help the group leader keep track of who has which copy!

The good news is that our kit can be borrowed by your book group (or loaned to a book group in another part of the state). The better news is that our participation in “Reads-to-Go” now gives your book group access to 30 more (and growing!) kits available through interlibrary loan. Each kit circulates for eight weeks before it must return to the loaning library.

Here are the kits currently available in NH to book groups: A Girl Named Zippy, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Bel Canto, Burning Marguerite, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Desert Queen, The Dogs of Babel, Ender's Game, The Ginger Tree, The Glass Castle, Kitchen Confidential, Last Days of Summer, The Lobster Chronicles, The Man Who Ate the 747, The Measure of a Man, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, The Memory of Running, My Sister's Keeper, Persepolis, The Red Tent, The Samurai's Garden, Shadow Divers, Sister of My Heart, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Under the Banner of Heaven, Water for Elephants, and Year of Wonders.

Be sure to let us know if you have additional book suggestions for “Reads-to-Go” kits and we’ll pass them along to the selection committee. Please speak to a librarian at the Adult Circulation desk if you’d like to borrow any of these 15-title kits for your own book group!

Should you care that Dumbledore is gay?

J.K. Rowling announced on Friday that Dumbledore is gay (for the very few of you that don't know who Dumbledore is, he is a character in the wildly popular Harry Potter series). My husband announced this news blip to me, and waited for my reaction--all I could think is... Dumbledore doesn't have time for um.. relations because he is too busy saving the wizarding world and fighting against the forces of evil. Harry Potter is a work of fantasy, and for me that means that I don't think of the characters as everyday people eating, sleeping, and whatever else. They have special powers--I mean how many people do you know that can save their memories in a stone pensieve--not many I would think. Many people disagree with my reaction, there has been both celebration and condemnation of the announcement, but for me Dumbledore is simply a wonderful character in a wonderful series gay or not. Agree or disagree? Let me know.

Get Ready for the Big Book Sale!

Volunteers and staff members have been hard at work all day lugging boxes of books to the Lecture Hall and organizing them. They have to finish by this Saturday when eager Library card holders will storm up the stairs to get first pick. Some of the treasures unpacked today include:
6th Target by James Patterson
Daddy's Girl by Lisa Scottoline
S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
and Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

A new "Resources for Adoptive Families" notebook is now available in the Children's Room thanks to the inspiration of two adoptive moms who "had the dream of seeing a wide range of adoption and fostering related materials available in our public library system". They have compiled materials and resources for getting started, for help along the way and for support after the adoption has been completed.

Included in this notebook is information on two groups, Coastal New Hampshire Adoptive Families and Adoptive Families Together, that support local adoptive families with information and monthly activities. Also included are recommended book lists, music, magazines, agencies and websites for adoptive families. (When visiting the Children's Room or our website, be sure to check out our "Good Books" lists of adoption related stories, Picture Books & A Selection of Fiction for Older Readers)

We want to thank Jody Kahn and Julie Burke for their inspiration, their hard work and for their generous donation to the Dover Public Library.

Learn about Antique Dover Sheet Music Wednesday at 7

The Friends of the Dover Public Library present Antique Dover Sheet Music this Wednesday, October 17, at 7pm in the Lecture Hall.

Culled from an enormous collection of old sheet music are the sounds of Dover. Take a look at the quality commercial artwork on the covers, the local shops that used their names to increase sales and listen to the music as performed by Meredith Linewebber. The Rochester Fair provided inspiration for many songs which are included in this interesting history of music that was stirring, romantic, had verses that rhymed and tunes that weren’t noise. Come and sing-along.

Meredith Linewebber is The Wand’ring Minstrel, an itinerant music teacher and performer. She started collecting music early in her life. The first large pile came her way from a neighbor in Swampscott, Ma where she grew up. That collection was mostly WWI and WWII sheet music. While in college, she was on her way home from a friend’s house and found a large collection of 1890’s music in a trash can. Along with serendipitous finds, people leave boxes on her deck, with or without a note. Assembling Dover sheet music from her extensive collection was a piece of cake! Meredith has donated a substantial portion of her collection to the Rochester Public Library, another famed Carnegie Library.

What Was That Title Again?

The subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list have compiled a very funny list of book titles that readers have garbled. If someone asked you for Oranges and Peaches would you know they wanted Origin of the Species? Can you guess what the patrons who asked for Fire Hydrant 415, I Left My Heart at Broken Arm, Salad at a Bad Café, and Satanic Nurses were looking for?