The "Challenge" Is On - What Are You Reading?

Read any good books lately? 

If you are participating in the 50 Book Challenge at Bernardsville Public Library, you may have read one or two by now.  The Challenge, which asks you to read 50 books in one year, has now begun. Participants have been given reading logs and instructions, but there's still room and time for others to join the group.  Please access our information about the 50 Book Challenge on this blog or on the library's Web site and become a member, too!

Back to the initial question:  What are you reading this year as part of the 50 Book Challenge?  The comments link at the bottom of this posting offers you the opportunity to list some good (or bad) books you've read and to express your opinions about them. You may also write a more extended review which I will post on this blog at a future date. Please consult Karen Vaias, 50 Book Challenge leader, for details.

Methland - A Sobering Look at "Heartland" America and Methamphetamine Addiction

As the subtitle states, Nick Reding's new book Methland chronicles "The Death and Life of an American Small Town." The town in question is Olewein, Iowa, where rural, small town life has been ravaged by methamphetamine addiction and the criminality that comes with it. Representative of many economically depressed Midwestern towns, Olewein found itself nearly destroyed by a combination of factors which contributed to a sudden tremendous surge in meth use. The author states that in the early 1990’s, local meatpacking plants were being acquired by giant corporations such as Gillette and Tyson. These corporations, in turn, ousted the union, slashed wages drastically, and eliminated workers’ compensation and medical coverage, leading to a flight of workers and to a decrease in the population. While methamphetamine abuse had been present in Olewein before, it suddenly became economically attractive to manufacture “crank” and deal it.

Residents found that they could make more money through meth production than they could hope to earn legally. Home meth labs sprang up all over Olewein, creating toxic hazards to residents, particularly children. Crimes related to meth use, not typically seen before, caused further erosion in the quality of town life, and more drug addicts and criminals moved in, attracted by the depressed housing prices and the apparent lack of police control over the situation. The town was on a death spiral, but as the title indicates,  life has come back to Olewein. How this transpired makes for a very compelling, but harrowing true story.

Review by Evelyn Fischel

Turning 50 Isn't So Bad

Fifty never looked so good! Join the 50 Book Challenge at Bernardsville Public Library for a fun way to challenge yourself to read 50 books in one year. This new program is designed to inspire you to finish those half-read books and to seek out interesting new material available at the library. Read any book of your choice! You may read fiction and nonfiction or listen to audiobooks, if you prefer. You may even include graphic novels. All you have to do is register for the program, pick up your reading log, and get started!

To make this as convenient as possible for you, reference librarian Karen Vaias has organized a kickoff party at 3 p.m. this Saturday, January 23, to be held in the library. Karen will explain the program at this time and help you set up your reading log. A selection of free books will be available and refreshments will also be served.

If you can't make the kickoff, please refer to the library's new 50 Book Challenge Web page. It is most comprehensive and informative. The Web page gives you great links to online resources and reading ideas, and you'll be able to print out your own reading log or create one online. Don't like to do things online? Just come into the library and register for the 50 Book Challenge at the circulation desk.

Although this is meant to be your own personal reading challenge, program participants will be invited to meet several times during the year for shared encouragement and discussion. If you achieve your goal of 50 books in 2010, your name will be entered into a drawing for prizes at year's end. Whatever your goal may be, this supportive program will help you attain it. Don't be afraid to turn "50."

Make A Difference

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service.  To honor his life's work toward social justice, equality and community service, Congress  in 1994 appointed the third Monday of every January as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, asking people to make this holiday "a day on, not a day off."  Learn more about the Rev. King, his life, and opportunities for volunteerism here.

Bernardsville Public Library, open today, has a display of books about the life and writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Biography area as well as at the circulation desk. Please feel to borrow any of these and other books about him in the Nonfiction wing.

If you are looking for volunteer opportunities close to home that you can continue short-term or throughout the year, please consider the library.  Bernardsville Public Library gratefully accepts volunteer assistance with computer classes, VITA tax assistance, ESL (English-as-a-second-language) instruction, book processing, children's activities, the Local History Room, and many other rewarding volunteer opportunities. Please stop by or call the library at 908-766-0118 to make a difference.

Cod, Who Knew?

A fish that shaped world history is the subject of a fascinating book to be discussed by the library's book group, Memoirs and Coffee. The group will discuss Mark Kurlansky's Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World on Tuesday, January 26th, at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room of Bernardsville Public Library. The book recounts the role this once prolific fish played in driving world exploration, national economies, wars, and culinary science. Kurlansky also describes the life cycle of cod and how it has been jeopardized by overfishing. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk for those who wish to attend the meeting, which is open to the public.

Knitted Toys, Anyone?

Well, the gift-giving holidays have just ended, so that means it's time to start planning ahead for next December or sooner! Is there a new baby coming to your doorstep this year or a child's birthday looming in the future?  Give them what they want - toys! - but knit them yourself.  Bernardsville Public Library has the very knitting books you'll want to make great toy projects for children (as well as for your dog and cat.) The newest book, Itty-Bitty Toys, will be coming out on our shelf soon,

but, in the meanwhile, check out the books below for fun and adorable knitted projects. They are just the thing to do during the cold winter months upon us.

The Giving Tree Awaits You

Once again, the "giving tree" has been set up in the lobby of Bernardsville Public Library to allow visitors to donate new books for needy children and youth during this holiday season.  All you have to do is bring in a new, unwrapped book for a toddler, child or teenager and place it in the giving tree's donation box. What could be simpler? What could be better?

Holiday Hilarity, Horror and Heartwarmers

Get yourself in the holiday mood (foul or festive) with some new seasonal fiction at Bernardsville Public Library.  The books illustrated above are just some of the great choices available to you. Happy Holidays!

Dressed For Success

Thanks to all of you who have dressed a bear for Bernardsville Library's holiday project this year. Each of the dressed bears has a unique look - from a fireman teddy to a golfer bear!  There are also charming examples of bears wearing stylish hand-knit sweaters or cute outfits and fairytale costumes.  Each of these adorable teddy bears is sure to please a needy child who will receive one through the auspices of The Salvation Army. 

If you still have a bear you're waiting to outfit, be sure to dress it and return it to the library soon.  These bears will be distributed shortly, so make sure your teddy is among the group that will bring happiness to a needy child this holiday season.

Shiny and New

Some of the most recent additions to our collection at Bernardsville Library are now featured in a New Books display near the circulation desk. November releases include the books pictured above dealing with current topics such as animal extinction and environmental risks to fetal development. Christmas fiction, including Garrison Keillor’s A Christmas Blizzard and T. D. Jakes’ The Memory Quilt are also on display along with Civil War historical fiction, Devil’s Dream, by Madison Smartt Bell. Additional fiction choices are also included along with numerous nonfiction titles. For instance, Steven Roberts’ new book, From Every End of This Earth, examines the contributions and struggles of immigrants living in the U.S. today. In Cheap We Trust by Lauren Weber offers a timely accounting of how Americans feel about thrift and whether cheap really is such a dirty word, after all.  These selections are plentiful and varied to appeal to most reading tastes.

Our Holiday Bears Are Here

The Bernardsville Library teddy bears are back and waiting for people to dress them so that they may be given to needy children and families this holiday season. Please stop by the library soon to pick out a bear (they come in three colors.) Then shop for an outfit, or create one yourself, and return the bear before Saturday, November 28th. The Salvation Army will distribute them in time to brighten the holidays for children in need.

Memoirs Book Group To Discuss Infidel

Memoirs and Coffee book group will discuss Infidel at its next meeting, Tuesday, November 17th, at 10:30 a.m. in the library.  Written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Infidel is an autobiography which recounts her traditional Islamic upbringing in Somalia and her escape from its strict circumscriptions. Fleeing an arranged marriage, the author sought asylum in the Netherlands and eventually served within its government.  In addition, she assisted filmmaker Theo van Gogh with his film, Submission, before he was assassinated. Infidel is an examination of her faith and the interface of Islam with the 21st century.  This book discussion is open to the public.

Book Review: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

Read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers for a truly engrossing and enraging narrative of one man's experiences during and following the 2005 flooding of New Orleans. What Hurricane Katrina (together with poor civil preparedness and bad levee engineering) did to the victims of this storm was horrifying enough. We all know that. But Zeitoun is an intensely gripping personal account of one victim who found himself innocently caught in the aftermath of the government's nightmarish disaster response.


You may be aghast to learn what happened to Abdulrahman Zeitoun - a Syrian-American, married father of four children, highly successful contractor, and well-liked and respected citizen of New Orleans - when he stayed behind to protect his home and business interests.  The merciful actions he took in saving people and pets were not met in kind by U.S. authorities.  Author Dave Eggers has written a remarkably tempered accounting of Mr. Zeitoun's ordeal in this highly readable narrative nonfiction book.

Review by Evelyn Fischel

Calling All Chick Lit Lovers

Make Chick Lit a definite pick-me-up when you enter the library next time.  We've put up an attractive display in the lobby of fiction with that come hither pink and pearl look to it.  Books by authors such as Lisa Kleypas, Jane Green, Sophie Kinsella, and Cecilia Ahern will vie for your attention as you browse and shop for your next fun read. 

Review: New Short Stories By Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro, noted author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, recently released a selection of short stories entitled Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall. Nocturnes are evocative and light instrumental pieces often performed in the evening. In this new publication, nocturnes do seem to reflect the true nature of Ishiguro’s stories which are evocative yet also somewhat insubstantial. They linger awhile in your mind, but do not deeply resonate. Perhaps that is the author’s intention.

For the most part, these stories are relayed in a casual manner, almost as if the narrator of each were telling us a light bedtime story or recollecting past histories over a glass of wine. Many of the stories make good use of humor and irony, particularly Nocturne and Crooner, and Come Rain or Come Shine is playfully farcical. That is not to say that they don’t have a moodiness or a message to them. The characters, all involved with music in some way, are often self-deluded and self-centered (maybe the two go together) but Ishiguro never asks the reader to dwell too deeply on their travails. These are, afterall, literary nocturnes.

Review by Evelyn Fischel