Neverwhere: London's Alternate Reality

Saturday Samplers, one of Bernardsville Public Library's book discussion groups, is now reading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere for its next meeting on Saturday, December 6th, at 3:30 p.m. in the library. This urban fantasy takes place in "London Below" where the city's noted underground stations comprise part of Gaiman's alternate universe. Memorable, original characters inhabit this dark and menacing setting in which an everday Everyman from "London Above" suddenly finds himself. Forced by situations out of his control, this "normal" main character must undergo a quest of mythological proportions in order to save not only the damsel in distress, but ever so much more. This is an exciting, imaginative book which nicely balances darkness and light, good and evil. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk.

Make It "Handmade" For The Holidays

photo source - Bernardsville Public Library

Why not "make it yourself" this holiday gift-giving season? There's nothing cozier than snuggling up to a good ball of wooly yarn (at least for the knitters/crocheters among us), and making something for someone else definitely gives you warm fuzzies on the inside, too!

If you like to do handworking, please join Bernardsville Public Library's new crafting group, Saturday Crafters. We meet monthly at the library, and our next meeting is this Saturday, November 22nd, at 3:30 p.m. in the Community Room. All crafters are welcome, and there is no sign-up required.

Please bring your own project and share your helpful tips with this friendly group. Last month we had knitters, a needlepointer, a paper crafter and a handsewer gathered together for a very cheerful afternoon. On Saturday staff member Evelyn Fischel will showcase library books featuring holiday gift-making ideas. This holiday season, say "I made it myself!"

Library Display Magic

photo source - Bernardsville Public Library

Does this look familiar to you? Well, yes, it's a huge, stylized globe, and it's also the centerpiece for our new display celebrating Bernardsville Public Library's slogan, "A world at your doorstep."

But it is also a cleverly reworked prop from our National Library Week book display earlier this year. Please refer to the April 9, 2008, posting for information on how the large wire construction above, symbolizing the tree of knowledge, was created by staff member Shelley Jones. To solder and construct this wire tree was a daunting task, and Shelley hoped she would never have to see it again.

photo source - Bernardsville Public Library

Nonetheless, the wire orb "called" to her when we needed a large world globe for the new slogan display. A little blue paint and an extended decoupaging session turned a green tree into "a world at your doorstep." How's that for magic? Our display features selections from some of the library's most popular collections, including hobbies, travel, and self-help. Please feel free to check out any of these books.

"Book News And More" Celebrates A Year Of Blogging

Book News and More, Bernardsville Public Library's blog, celebrates its first anniversary today. We hope you have enjoyed the postings over the past year, and we look forward to your continued readership. Please feel free to make comments on the posts of interest to you, as this is your means of communicating with us. Your comments also provide us with feedback that will lead to more of the kinds of features you want to see in the future. Thanks for helping us to light our first candle!

Hitch Your Wagon To Our Little House On The Prairie Display

photo source - Bernardsville Public Library

The children's fiction of Laura Ingalls Wilder has captivated readers for over 75 years now, and Bernardsville Public Library is celebrating the author's charming frontier stories with a special display. Here you'll find a wagonload of books and dvds related to the theme of The Little House on the Prairie. Look for the three-dimensional wagon located adjacent to the entry to the Fiction Wing. Even more items are included than pictured above.

Once Upon A Time, Once Upon A Town

“Once upon a time," the spirit of American volunteerism inspired a wildly successful war effort project. Women from the region of North Platte, Nebraska, organized a canteen at the North Platte train depot to provide refreshments and entertainment for World War II service personnel who deboarded while the trains had their scheduled servicing. At the height of this effort, over 3,000 service people were treated to nourishing homemade goods every day. Bob Greene's book, Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen, chronicles this story and will be discussed at Memoirs and Coffee, a Bernardsville Public Library book group, on Tuesday, November 18th, at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk.

The Passing of Michael Crichton and Studs Terkel Noted

Bestselling author Michael Crichton died yesterday at the age of 66 after a long illness. Famous for such clever fictional works as Jurassic Park, Congo, and The Andromeda Strain, Crichton had a talent for great storytelling which could turn implausible themes into vibrant, frightening reality. Bernardsville Public Library has set up a display of Michael Crichton books alongside those of Tony Hillerman, also recently deceased. You'll find this display just inside the lobby on the right.

To remember Studs Terkel, who died October 31st at the age of 96, we have included several of his works in this same display. A man of many talents - interviewer, tv and radio personality, chronicler of 20th century life, and Chicago's number one fan - Studs Terkel carved a special niche for himself in American culture. He requested that his epitaph read, "Curiosity did not kill this cat."

Comment on The Red Tent

Saturday Samplers, Bernardsville Public Library's book discussion group, shared a number of interesting discussion points on Anita Diamant's The Red Tent last Saturday. We compared a reading from the book of Genesis to the main character's storyline, learning just how divurgent the two stories of Dinah actually were. We considered how people of different faiths might react to this story and whether the reader's gender affects perceptions and appreciation of the book.
Since this has been such a widely-read and popular book in the United States, I am inviting comments on The Red Tent here. You don't have to be a member of the library to post your comment, and we'd love to hear from people all over the world who have read the book and have an opinion about it.