A Dickens of a True Story

Fetid drinking water, often contaminated with human waste and life-threatening bacteria, was the only option for many Londoners in the mid-nineteenth century when cholera became a common occurrence.  Overcrowded living conditions and overflowing garbage mounds added to a recipe for health disasters, one of which struck a section of London in the 1850's in a ferocious cholera outbreak.  The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson, recounts how this outbreak came to pass, details the microbial profile of cholera, and describes how two Londoners came to realize its source at a time when scientific understanding of disease and its spread was shockingly limited.  Saturday Samplers library book group will discuss this exciting book at their next meeting to be held on Saturday, November 2, at 3:30 p.m. in the library. Copies of the book are still available at the circulation desk, and new members are welcome to attend.

Library Benefit Draws Former Governor As Speaker

Christine Todd Whitman, former Governor of New Jersey, will speak this Sunday, October 27, at a library benefit sponsored by the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library.  Gov. Whitman served as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush, and her topic reflects her particular interest in the well being of New Jersey's environment.  Specifically, she will be addressing the state of the environment following Superstorm Sandy and how policy making might align itself with green movement concerns in the future. This special event will take place at Dolce in Basking Ridge from 4 - 7 p.m.  Hors d'oeuvres and cocktails are included in the ticket price. For further information, please refer here http://bit.ly/18C54Q8.

...On Being Stalked

James Lasdun's recent book Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked will be discussed by Bernardsville Library book group Memoirs and Coffee on Tuesday, October 22, at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room.

Lasdun's memoir recounts how a student/teacher email correspondence went terribly wrong so swiftly and destructively, leading to what he calls a campaign of "verbal terrorism" by his female student.  About Give Me Everything You Have, Publishers Weekly writes, "This subtle, compassionate take on the subject is rife with insights into the current cyberculture's cult of anonymity, as well as the power, failure, and magic of writing." Copies of the book are available, and new members are encouraged to attend the book group discussion.

We Put NextRead Books Right In Your Hands

We do everything except read the book for you!

Now you can sign up on Bernardsville Public Library's website to receive email newsletters tailored to your reading preferences via Next Reads.  The NextReads service delivers customized reading suggestions to your email inbox on a weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly basis.  Do you like to read historical fiction?  Want to know what's the latest and greatest in mysteries or in kids' books?  You get to choose which genres or kinds of books you will be notified about when you sign up here for NextReads. 

We take the next step for you, too!  You'll find a NextReads display in our lobby with the latest NextReads books already pulled and waiting for you on these display shelves.  We've even sorted them by genre.  You do have to pick them up, however, and check them out! How easy is that?