Seen On Pinterest: Our Book Group Bags

More than three years ago, Bernardsville Library initiated a new library service for its patrons – book kits put together specifically for area book groups to borrow.  Referred to as book group bags, these kits contain ten paperback copies of a popular title along with an author biography, literary notes, and starred reviews - all contained in a sturdy canvas bag.  The selected books include new and older fiction, nonfiction, and memoirs or biographies known to inspire good discussion among groups.  A generous donation from an area resident has sustained this library service and made it possible to add new book group bags every year.

In library, we offer a handout listing the book titles for these book group bags, but another way to quickly see what we offer is to go to our Pinterest page on which we have a board for book clubs.  There, you and your book group members will be able to see all the book covers and easily come to a decision on what to read next.  All that’s necessary is for one member with a Bernardsville Library card to check out the bag (for six weeks) and return all the items intact by the due date.  The reading is up to you!

The Hare with Amber Eyes

Bernardsville Library’s book group, Memoirs and Coffee, will discuss Edmund de Waal’s The Hare with Amber Eyes on Tuesday, September 25, at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room.  This book discussion group meets monthly and is open to new members who like to read memoirs and biographies.  The discussion is led by library staff member Pat Kennedy-Grant who has made extra copies of The Hare with Amber Eyes available at the circulation desk.

Edmund de Waal’s curiosity was piqued when he inherited a collection of netsuke, tiny Japanese carvings. What were they? How did they figure into his family’s history? He would come to learn that the netsuke were all that remained of his Viennese family’s vast art collections, destroyed in the Nazi persecution of Jews. Five generations of towering success and wealth for the Ephrussis family were stripped away in World War II, yet the netsuke had been miraculously saved by a maid who sewed them into a mattress. De Waal’s book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, explores family history under extraordinary conditions and the little miracles that endure such destruction.

Transitioning?

Summer ends, children return to school, and it might just be time for a change in your life.  Maybe you’re ready to transition into or out of a career.  Perhaps you are looking for some fulfilling way to spend a few hours a week outside the home. Let Bernardsville Library assist you in finding opportunities for full and part-time employment.  There are numerous online resources accessible from our website which may prove very useful to you.  For New Jersey residents you'll find a special menu, NJ Work Tools, offering information and links for job seekers including veterans.  Bernardsville Library's website also offers many business resources which are searchable online, such as Reference USA, Ferguson Career Guidance, and EBSCO BusinessSource Premier.  Don't forget The Job and Career Accelerator tool and its test preparation platform, both of which are designed to get you on the fast track.  For those able to come into our library, we also make available the Foundation Directory Online, which a librarian will access for you.  In fact, our librarians are eager to help you in your career search, so please seek out our guidance.  We'd love to work with you!