BOOK NEWS AND MORE

e-Books to iPad

2012-01-30T12:01:00.000-05:00

Learn how to download books and music to iPad at Bernardsville Library's program on January 31st at 7 p.m. The procedure and apps you need will be demonstrated by Cranbury Public Library's Doug Baldwin, librarian and IT expert. Feel free to bring your iPad with you.

If you don't own an iPad, why not try out Bernardsville Public Library's iPad which may be borrowed with a Bernardsville Library card? For more information or to sign up for this program, call 908-766-0118 or go online @ http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DX8SSJ6.

Library Book Group To Discuss The Memory Palace

2012-01-18T17:03:00.001-05:00

Mira Bartok's memoir of family dysfunction and mental illness, The Memory Palace, will be discussed at the next meeting of Memoirs and Coffee on Tuesday, January 24th, at 10:30 a.m. The Memory Palace recounts the damaging effects her mother's schizophrenia had on both the author and her sister. At one point both sisters severed all contact with their mother because of her destructive behavior. Nonetheless, Mira Bartok found a need to reconnect with her mother when she herself was recovering from a debilitating accident. The book discussion will be led by Pat Kennedy-Grant who invites new members to join Memoirs and Coffee. Copies of The Memory Palace are available now at the circulation desk.

Ready, Set, Knit/Crochet!

2012-01-11T23:07:00.000-05:00

Before the first snowflakes fall, be sure to visit Bernardsville Library's "Knit Up A Storm This Winter" display featuring our knit and crochet books. You'll find lots of great ideas and patterns in these attractive books geared to creating the latest in handmade fashion, home decor and toys. Wander over to this display in our nonfiction section, borrow a book, and get started with your projects right now.

Not To Be Overlooked

2011-12-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

Here are two noteworthy pieces of fiction that you may have missed. Both books present wonderful reading experiences and deserve your notice.

Kevin Holohan's caustic and witty book, The Brothers' Lot, delivers a swift kick to the crumbling moral decay of Irish Catholic brotherhoods and church schools in this debut novel. Holohan's story will leave you angered, but also bemused that there could be anything laughable about the corrupted world of the "Brothers of Godly Coercion for Boys of Meager Means." Wielding his plot line like a terrible swift sword, Holohan insures that there will be retribution served against the Brothers for their many examples of child abuse. In fact, the walls of their miserable school do indeed come crashing down around their heads in a great scene of authorial wish fulfillment by this very promising Irish writer.

American author and poet Denis Johnson's beautiful novella, Train Dreams, is an exceptional work capturing the sweep and depth of change in early 1900's America. Writer Anthony Doerr's review notes that "Johnson is as skilled as ever at balancing menace against ecstasy, civilization against wilderness. His prose tiptoes a tightrope between peace and calamity, and beneath all of the novella’s best moments, Johnson runs twin strains of tenderness and the threat of violence." Denis Johnson's masterful writing condenses what could have been an epic story into a poetic, magical piece of short fiction. This is literary fiction of a high caliber.

~Evelyn Fischel~

Teddy Bears

2011-11-23T11:57:00.003-05:00

The Teddy Bears are here at Bernardsville Library and ready to be dressed for holiday distribution by the Salvation Army. This year we are giving you a unique way to double your donation; purchase an outfit readymade by library volunteers, and the handknit or handcrocheted outfit can then be put on a bear of your choice for the children's holiday charity drive. The outfit's cost of $10 will benefit Bernardsville Library, and you won't need to go to a craft store. Simply pick out a beautiful handmade outfit - bathrobes, bikinis, sweaters, nightshirts - and dress a bear!

Rafa's Rock

2011-11-09T00:15:00.000-05:00

Here's a very enjoyable new sports memoir entitled Rafa about the tennis champion Rafael Nadal. Co-authored with John Carlin who works for El Pais, the Spanish language newspaper, this is a well written book which clearly distinguishes Nadal's voice from Carlin's as chapters alternate between the two. Nadal's opening chapter introduces us to the tennis player's state of mind, always a battleground against his own thoughts, as Nadal prepares to face off against Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final. Nadal writes, "The feeling suits me; the cathedral hush of the Centre Court is good for my game. Because what I battle hardest to do in a tennis match is to quiet the voices in my head, to shut everything out of my mind but the contest itself and concentrate every atom of my being on the point I am playing. If I made a mistake on a previous point, forget it; should a thought of victory suggest itself, crush it."

The epic battle, marked by rain delay, gathering darkness and five hours of play, resulted in Nadal's Wimbledon victory at the age of 22, fulfilling this young player's earliest ambition. Of course, Nadal has since attained many more championships and Grand Slams, and he discusses some of these matches as well. The book is not merely a technical analysis of his play, but rather an interesting portrait of the determination and endurance required of any champion. As we follow Rafa's story, we learn some of the physical and personal challenges he has had to face even as he has maintained a sterling reputation in the sports' world. John Carlin's chapters fill us in on Nadal's family life and upbringing on Mallorca. His strong family bond and the Mallorcan culture have clearly formed the bedrock that has kept Nadal so stable and focused, never allowing him to be self-centered. This champion always returns home to his family and to the island of Mallorca, where his victories are never celebrated because that is not their way.

~Evelyn Fischel~

Memoirs and Coffee Meets Tomorrow

2011-10-24T11:26:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Library book group, Memoirs and Coffee, will discuss The Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil at its next meeting on Tuesday, October 25th, at 10:30 a.m. Memoirs and Coffee is the library's open-invitation book discussion group dedicated to reading memoirs. Staff member Pat Kennedy-Grant is the coordinator for this group, which meets monthly in the Community Room. New members are always welcomed.

Author Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan in 2001 as a humanitarian aid volunteer, but soon doubted her ability to offer substantive skills. Her training had been in hairdressing, yet Westerners and Afghan women swiftly sought her out once they learned this. Before Taliban rule, Afghan women had experienced success running beauty salons, and now they hungered to reestablish themselves in the beauty business. Rodriguez gathered sponsors who enabled her to found the Kabul Beauty School in 2003.

Friendships and stories shared among these women and the author reveal what some Afghan women must contend with in their culture. Random House published this book in 2007 and offers these notes, "...within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year old bride sold into marriage to pay her family's debts, the Taliban member's wife who pursued her training despite her husband's constant beatings."

Breast Cancer Awareness Display

2011-10-11T23:53:00.000-04:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Bernardsville Library has marked the occasion with an extensive and interesting display of books on the topic. You'll find first-hand accounts from survivors, information on newer therapies, plus accounts from families and friends who have supported women through their diagnoses and treatment. Novels as well as teen and children's books are also included in the display. Please stop by the library rotunda to see what it's all about.

The Kind of Pop-Ups You Welcome

2011-10-03T16:56:00.005-04:00

Robert Sabuda is a very talented man with a pair of scissors and an X-Acto knife! Just ask your children; no doubt they have enjoyed looking at some of his beautiful, 3-D pop-up books. Bernardsville Library currently has 15 Sabuda books which are popular with parents as well as children.

In the October 1st edition of The Wall Street Journal there is an interesting article about how this paper artist ("illusionist" as he calls himself) transforms stories into 3-dimensional formats that will work consistently. As Sabuda notes, the hardest part of his job is designing the pop-up to collapse back down properly. If that doesn't happen, the paper construction will be further damaged with each closing of the book cover.

Perhaps the most surprising thing to learn from this article is that the pop-ups in every book have been individually handcut by 1,000 workers in Thailand! The next time you're in the library, ask one of the children's librarians to show you our terrific collection of Sabuda pop-up books.

Hmm...The Help

2011-09-30T20:51:00.003-04:00

Kathryn Stockett's first novel, The Help, has bloomed into a mega-hit regardless of criticism for its historical inaccuracies and racial insensitivity. One blog in particular, "A Critical Review of the novel The Help," is just loaded with interesting critical commentary. Nonetheless, many readers seem to adore it for the dialogue and punchy characters inhabiting a story the author thought would never be published. In fact, according to Stockett, the manuscript was rejected by 60 literary agents before hitting pay dirt in 2009. Since that time, The Help has enjoyed a great run on the book club circuit, has been released as a major motion picture, and will now be discussed this Saturday by our book group, Saturday Samplers. This Bernardsville Library book discussion group will meet on October 1st at 3:30 p.m. in the library.

Stockett states in a Daily Mail UK interview that the story came about from her memories of her own family's black maid, Demetrie. Demetrie worked for the author's Mississippi family for 32 years, raising Kathryn and her siblings, and accompanying the family on vacations. Still, Demetrie was never allowed to use the family's toilet, tub or dinnerware, and it never occurred to a young Stockett that this was unusual.

In an NPR interview with Michele Norris, Kathryn Stockett states about her book, "It's fiction, but some of the facts and the settings and the backdrops - sure, that was Southern life. Having a separate bathroom for the black domestic was just the way things were done. Certainly, in my grandmother's time and when I was growing up, yeah, Demetrie's bathroom was on the side of the house. It was a separate door. Still, to this day, I've never been in that room." Regardless, Stockett expresses her love for Demetrie and says, "Demetrie was treated like a queen, in my mind growing up, I should say." Hmm...it all depends on your perspective.

Banned Books Week

2011-09-28T11:05:00.001-04:00

Celebrate the right to read; stop by our display of historically banned and challenged books to highlight the annual observation of Banned Books Week. You might be surprised at what you see there. Would you expect to see James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl among these books? How about The Lorax by Dr. Seuss? Banned or challenged books by Truman Capote, Isabel Allende, Ray Bradbury, John Irving and other authors are on display and available for check out. You'll find these items, including examples from the Harry Potter series, showcased in the library rotunda.

Staff Picks to Pick Up

2011-09-22T12:45:00.000-04:00

Stumped for a book to read and no time to browse? Stop by the lobby display of Bernardsville Library Staff Picks loaded with items for all kinds of readers, including children. There are many biographies, cookbooks, movies, music cds, audiobooks, fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from which to chose. See what the staff recommends and share your suggestions, too. It's one-stop shopping, library style!

We Remember...

2011-09-11T13:05:00.002-04:00

A selection of reading material on the topic of September 11 is currently on display in the nonfiction wing. Please browse and borrow.

September Library Book Groups To Meet

2011-09-09T11:15:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Library's two book groups will meet in September. Saturday Samplers will discuss Elizabeth Cunningham's novel, The Passion of Mary Magdalen, this Saturday, September 10, at 3:30 p.m. in the library.

Memoirs and Coffee will discuss Townie: a memoir by Andre Dubus III on Tuesday, September 27 at 10:30 a.m. Members of this book group are invited to read an additional novel or short story collection by the same author. Copies of these September books are available at the circulation desk.

Queen of The British Collection

2011-08-19T13:06:00.003-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library's renowned collection of British films and television series continues to attract a borrowing public looking for shows with that special British humor, flair, historical interest and literary depth. Staff member Susan Popper, a fan of British film, recognized the public's growing demand for these items five years ago and created a section among our videotapes and dvds devoted entirely to the British material. She named it The British Collection, and the rest was history.

Our customers can't get enough of these great series and films, and we can rely on them to return week after week for more viewing material. They especially appreciate the broad selection of PBS and BBC productions as well as independent movies and television shows. And there is so much variety to chose from, even within a particular theme! For instance, ecclesiatical humor and charm bless those who watch the Ballykissangel, Father Ted, and The Vicar of Dibley series. Medicine is served up with wildly different bedside manners in Doc Martin, Doctor Finlay, and All Creatures Great and Small.

Contrast the older family saga, Poldark, with the newer Monarch of the Glen. Criminal inspector series such as George Gently, Midsomer Murders, Prime Suspect, and Inspector Lynley, offer a modern counterpoint to the many classic Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and Poirot films in the collection. Hyacinth Bucket carries on her silly class humor in Keeping Up Appearances while the main character in the BBC series Lovejoy hones his eye for antiques, lovely ladies and intrigue, all at the same time.

Espionage and military themes appear in the series, Reilly, the Ace of Spies, and Foyle's War, but we also offer a number of BBC military histories and documentaries. For the literary crowd, movies based on the works of Dickens, Austen, Thackeray, Bronte, and other noted authors are popular choices. And don't forget those old PBS chestnuts, such as Upstairs Downstairs and Brideshead Revisited, which still contend with the newer productions.

For more information on what's available in The British Collection, click on this link to our catalog.

New "50 Book Challenge" Suggestions

2011-08-04T15:09:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Library "50 Book Challenge" for 2011 has reached the half-way mark, and participants recently shared some of their reading suggestions.

Ape House by Sara Gruen is a standout among the 50 Book members. One reader proclaimed Ape House to be the best book she's read this year and found it "astonishing, gripping, upsetting and triumphant." She notes that the author "explores the colorful eccentricities of humans and animals through their interactions with each other, leaving us questioning which is the more humane." Another book, Ransom, by Australian author David Malouf, was praised for its lyricism. Ransom retells/reimagines the encounter between King Priam and Achilles in Homer's epic poem, "The Iliad."

Readers of suspense might find some of the following books enjoyable. For instance, Olen Steinhauer's plot in The Tourist forces a retired CIA agent back undercover despite his new career circumstances and family demands. Daniel Silva's art-themed book, The Rembrandt Affair, was deemed "a page-turner with lots of great characters, imaginative plot and great prose."

Two Scandinavian mysteries were also noted: The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason, and The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. One reader states that in The Draining Lake, "a human skeleton surfaces in the bed of a lake near Reykjavik that's been mysteriously draining away, which set the stage for the present-day-to-cold-war back and forth mystery." Another reader notes that while The Snowman "is a thriller with a deeply creepy serial killer," reading all those snowy winter scenes helped keep her cool during these sultry summer days.

For nonfiction readers, My Stroke of Insight by Jill Taylor was proposed as an interesting and dramatic book recounting the sudden onset of a massive stroke experienced by the author. She describes in gripping detail what her symptoms felt like, noting just how quickly she became incapacitated, barely able to call for help. Taylor, a neuroscientist, takes the reader through her convalescence, offering insights as to what helped her make such a good recovery.

Try some of these books for your summer reading. There's still a month left!

Scientific and Literary Versions of Immortality

2011-07-22T10:49:00.000-04:00

Memoirs and Coffee, one of Bernardsville Public Library's book groups, will discuss Rebecca Skloot's narrative nonfiction bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, at its next meeting, Tuesday, July 26, at 10:30 a.m. Pat Kennedy-Grant will lead the discussion which is open to the public. Please meet in the library Community Room.

Shown above in one of only a few extant photographs, Henrietta Lacks was a poor tobacco farmer who died in 1951 of a virulent form of cervical cancer after being treated at Johns Hopkins. She left behind young children, a husband and many friends, but what her family did not know is that a biological legacy of hers was also left behind or, perhaps we should say, unwittingly taken from her. That legacy is the untold number of HeLa cells (named after her) which were originally removed in a small biopsy by a Johns Hopkins doctor.

These cells were cultured and demonstrated to have a remarkable ability to self-generate in the laboratory. This virtually endless supply of cells still generated from her original culture have been applied by researchers around the world to advance the study of gene mapping, create the polio vaccine, develop chemotherapy and other medical breakthroughs. While millions of dollars have passed hands because of the great demand for her cells, no money has ever been given to the family of Henrietta Lacks. The troubled story of her family, particularly the children she left behind, and their struggle to grasp the magnitude of their loss is treated with sensitivity, honesty and also charm by the author. The family's personal drama nicely balances out the scientific information which Rebecca Skloot presents in very readable fashion in this excellent book.

Cue the QR Code!

2011-07-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

If you stare at this long enough, you might start seeing things!

Instead, just know that this is Bernardsville Public Library's very own QR Code. QR stands for Quick Response and signifies a way of barcoding which connects you to our Web site when you use your mobile device to read the code. You might find our code printed on publicity newsletters, library brochures, advertisements and elsewhere. It is a quick way for you to connect to us!

Keeping the Feast - Keeping the Marriage

2011-07-07T15:44:00.000-04:00

Paula Butturini, author of Keeping the Feast: One Couple's Story of Love, Food, and Healing in Italy, will make an appearance at Bernardsville Public Library on Thursday, July 14, at 7 p.m. for a book signing. Please come to this free program to meet the author and discuss her book. Copies of Keeping the Feast will be made available at the library for purchase and signing by the author.

Keeping the Feast recounts the grave gunshot injury to her husband, New York Times bureau chief John Tagliabue, who had been covering the Romanian uprising in 1989. Married just a short while, the couple shared a strong love of Italy, and so they settled in Rome while he recuperated. The author describes her evolving ideas about her husband's process of recovery and how sharing daily food was a sustenance to both their bodies and their marriage. The library has a copy of the book available for check out, as well.

Hmmm...Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

2011-06-27T15:04:00.001-04:00

Amy Chua's controversial biography, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, will be discussed on Tuesday, June 28th, at 10:30 a.m. by Bernardsville Library's book group, Memoirs and Coffee.

How do you think children should be reared - by nurturing or strict training? See what the author believes and whether she was able to live up to her own standards for herself as a Chinese-American mother. Attempting to raise her children in the Chinese way while living in a Western country just might be expected to cause some friction between mom and child, so find out how she and her family survived her childrearing philosophy. The book discussion is open to the public; please feel welcome to attend if you have read the book or are interested in hearing more about it.

One World, Many Stories

2011-06-20T10:37:00.000-04:00

Sign-ups begin today for Bernardsville Public Library's summer reading program for children, "One World, Many Stories." Exciting activities have been planned all summer long for ages 2 1/2 through the high school years. Our Summer Reading Club will enjoy a great kick-off at the "Wild Animals & Wallaby Tales" event scheduled for Saturday, June 25, at 1 p.m. Don't miss it!

All activities and reading programs are free. We encourage you to sign up your children and help them learn about a wonderful world of reading. Simply call the library (908-766-0118) or register online through the Kids Stuff link on our Web site.

Seniors Day

2011-06-09T11:44:00.001-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library will host its ninth annual Seniors Day event tomorrow, Friday, June 10th, at 10 a.m. Seniors Day participants will enjoy a free continental breakfast, games, sing-alongs, and a musical program by Charlie Z, "From Bing to the King and a whole lotta Swing." Charlie Z will bring back great memories of vintage hits from World War II and the 1950's with recordings by Bing Crosby, the Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller and many other vocal and Big Band stars. Seniors who live in the area are invited to call the library to attend.

Library Group to Discuss Year of Wonders

2011-06-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

Year of Wonders: a novel of the plague (2001) will be discussed this Saturday, June 4th, at the Saturday Samplers book group meeting to be held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday Samplers is a Bernardsville Library open-invitation book group led by staff member Evelyn Fischel. Please feel welcome to attend.

Geraldine Brooks, author of Year of Wonders, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist. Brooks grew up outside of Sydney, Australia, and resides there today with her family. She is a graduate of the University of Sydney and reported for a Sydney newspaper in the early part of her career. After attending a master's program at Columbia University, she also worked for The Wall Street Journal.

Her writing demonstrates a wide-ranging interest in historical and cultural topics of an international scope. Among her books are Nine Parts of Desire: the hidden world of Islamic women, the 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel March, as well as People of the Book, a fictional piece based on the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah. The latest novel, Caleb's Crossing, has just been published to excellent reviews and concerns the interplay of cultures, Native American and English, during the American colonial period.

Year of Wonders: a novel of the plague earned high praise for Brooks from many quarters. The book recounts in fiction a true and tragic period in English history centering on a real town which faced a virulent outbreak of the plague. Approximately four-fifths of the populace of the small English town of Eyam died during this outbreak in 1666, but the townspeople are remembered to this day for the extraordinary sacrifice they collectively made under the leadership of their local rector. Brooks employs a somber and lyrical tone along with a memorable narrator to do justice to this spellbinding story.

Summer Reading: Literary Novels Served Up With Werewolves And Robots

2011-05-27T22:59:00.002-04:00

Better stockpile some silver bullets and wolfsbane; this summer could get hairy!

Supernatural fiction has elbowed its way to the forefront, but this year you'll find an even greater intermixing of genres such as science fiction or occult with literary fiction according to The Wall Street Journal article of today entitled "The Season of the Supernatural." Novelists are taking a stab at writing crossover books which bridge literary fiction with the popular genres of fantasy and the supernatural.

Successful publications such as Justin Cronin's The Passage have encouraged writers to utilize vampires, werewolves and robots as devices in their new literary novels. Well-known author Michael Chabon comments in this article on the similarity between writing a literary novel and writing science fiction, "Your job is exactly the same - to persuade the reader that it is all true. That's the same if you are writing about suburban New Jersey, as well as suburban Jupiter."

A number of new crossover fiction books are suggested for your summer reading in this interesting article. Perhaps Glen Duncan's upcoming book, The Last Werewolf, will grip you by the throat with heartfelt feeling for the melancholy werewolf protagonist. And now that the recent interest in Doomsday predictions has surfaced, Tom Perrotta's book The Leftovers ought to take readers away, just as a Doomsday event described in the book has taken away a mass of people. Perrotta states, "I thought I could write a comic novel about the apocalypse, but I quickly realized it would be a book about grief." Click on the link to read more.

Anorexia Starves the Family, Too

2011-05-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

Brave Girl Eating: a family's struggle with anorexia by Harriet Brown will be discussed at the next meeting of Memoirs and Coffee, one of Bernardsville Public Library's monthly book groups. The meeting will take place in the Community Room on Tuesday, May 24th, at 10:30 a.m.. This book group is open to the public; please feel free to attend. The discussion will be led by staff member Pat Kennedy-Grant.

Harriet Brown is an assistant professor of magazine journalism at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and has contributed articles to Health, Redbook, The New York Times Magazine and to the Science section of The New York Times. She is the author of other books as well as a blog entitled "Feed Me!" which discusses eating disorders. Brave Girl Eating chronicles her own family's efforts to help her teenage daughter combat anorexia nervosa.

Elephants and Crocs, as Seen by the Doc

2011-05-17T09:52:00.000-04:00

Tales of an African Vet by Dr. Roy Aronson brings the reader up close and quite personal with the kinds of wild animals that tourists dream about but may never see on safari. Each of the 19 stories chronicles an interesting medical case handled by this highly-skilled South African veterinarian. Some of the cases
seemed hopeless at the time; others appeared almost impossible to treat. How do you track and treat in the wild a lionness with entropion of the eyelid, a condition which could eventually blind her? How safe is it to anesthetize a 2-ton rhinoceros? Can an elephant survive a plundered meal of 220 pounds of canned pickles and jars of jam, glass and all? Who wouldn't want to know the answer to that one!

The intriguing medical crises of large and small wild animals are explained in this book with humility, good humor, and a loving dedication to the author's patients. Yes, even a deadly Cape cobra which has killed a small pet dog (the dog went into the bushes after the snake and broke the snake's spine) is treated by the doctor with the same earnest hope of saving its life. Although this story ended sadly for both animals, Dr. Aronson made the effort to find the wild snake, restrain it, perform an examination on it, mercifully euthanize it, and then safely desposit the snake's body out in the countryside. He did this out of respect for life and nature's ways.

Each of these medical cases has broadened the author's knowledge of the animal kingdom and its precarious standing in a world ever encroached upon by man. In turn, this African veterinarian has educated many game wardens, animal handlers, and the public about the unique and serious conditions that can affect these animals. The issues of Apartheid, poaching, and the introduction of human disease into wildlife species are discussed in an informative way that puts mankind on alert without harsh scolding. I thoroughly enjoyed these true and amazing stories demonstrating one very beneficial and vital way man can connect with the wildest of lifeforms.
~Evelyn Fischel~

Authors from the Indian Subcontintent Featured

2011-05-13T21:00:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library is currently featuring a colorful display of books by authors from the Indian Subcontinent. Please stop by this new display in the lobby to browse from these wonderful works of fiction. Authors included in the display hail from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The display offers an interesting variety of fiction including thrillers (Six Suspects), relational stories (Sister of My Heart and Secret Daughter), epic novels (The Moor's Last Sigh and A Suitable Boy), short stories (In the Convent of Little Flowers: stories), as well as contemporary, thought-provoking works (The Reluctant Fundamentalist.) Let your eye be drawn to the gold and blue sari draping this book display and find yourself drawn into other worlds, other lives.

Rework Your Business Thinking

2011-05-04T12:04:00.000-04:00

Thomas Alva Edison said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." Rework, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson's new book, supplies 271 pages of sheer inspiration to get you motivated about work and your career dreams. And the good news is that this is a very quick and easy book to read. Rework is filled with bold illustrations and short, punchy topics of one or two pages each, such as "Long Lists Don't Get Done" and "Start at the Epicenter." After reading it, you might just feel the "can do" spirit to lift yourself out of your work or business rut. The last page does admonish you, however, that "Inspiration is Perishable." As the authors note, "Inspiration is a magical thing, a productivity multiplier, a motivator, But it won't wait for you. Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work."

Life At A Snail's Pace

2011-04-27T23:40:00.001-04:00

Elisabeth Tova Bailey's 2010 book, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, describes life truly lived at a snail's pace. Victim of a virulent virus which attacked her autonomic nervous system and caused mitochondrial disease, Elisabeth Tova Bailey faced a depressing prognosis of extreme fatigue and the inability to maintain adequate blood pressure in an upright position. In short, she would have to live life reclining because her body was unable to function in an upright manner. Although she had periods of improvement, serious health reversals repeatedly sent her back to bed. Dependent on caregivers and friends for her needs, she found that she had all the time in the world, but no capability to use it in the ways she would like.

Enter the snail.

One day a visiting friend brought her a small snail she had found in the woods, simply because it struck her fancy. This friend deposited the snail in a pot of field violets which she placed on Bailey's bedside table. The author quickly found herself mesmerized by the seeming poise and adaptability of this wild creature suddenly placed in an alien environment. As she observed the snail's tentative exploration of its pot, Bailey fancifully noted, "Pondering its circumstances with a regal air, as if from the turret of a castle, it waved its tentacles this way and then that, as though responding to a distant melody." So began the author's enchantment with the snail and her identification with its slow, but purposeful progress through each day. She enjoyed its nocturnal activity, glad to have the presence of another living thing close by on sleepless nights.

On one such night she first heard the sound of the tiny snail eating a flower petal. With this, the snail captured both Elisabeth Tova Bailey and me. I couldn't wait to learn more about how the snail and the author might fare. In this short and endearing book, I learned much of fascinating interest about snails, their life cycles and languorous "love lives," their unique and paradoxical physical aspects. Interspersed throughout the story are wonderful excerpts from poets and scientists who have long appreciated this miniscule, but marvelous organism. Bailey aptly quotes the haiku of Kobayashi Issa here, "Climb Mount Fuji/ O Snail/ but slowly, slowly." What insights the author gleaned from her coexistence with this fellow slow-mover enabled her to examine and accept her own state of being. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating tells her story and that of the snail with beautiful prose and fluid style.

~Evelyn Fischel~

The Brains Are On The Move

2011-04-21T23:53:00.000-04:00

Don't worry...you haven't lost your mind! The "Mind: Your Brain" book display has picked up roots and moved into the library rotunda at Bernardsville Public Library for an extended stay. It seems that the brain is one organ that everybody gives a second thought to, and many of the books in this display have captured people's interest. You'll be able to find most of the selections that were featured in the earlier lobby display and there is now an original Bernardsville Library bookmark with reading suggestions for this topic as well. Be kind to your mind - give it some thought.

April is Autism Awareness Month

2011-04-19T17:38:00.000-04:00

"April is Autism Awareness Month," and Bernardsville Public Library has marked this observance with a special display. Our Youth Services librarians have assembled a book display offering an informative collection of reading material. This display is located in the Parenting Corner at the entrance to the fiction wing.

There you will find resources for adults and children which may help to identify, understand, and manage the range of behavior involved with autistic and Asperger's disorders. There are picture books for the very young as well as literature for teens and adults, along with medical and educational resources. Please stop by for a look.

Have You Had Your "Date" Yet?

2011-04-17T11:00:00.000-04:00

"Go on a Blind Date with a Book" is an on-going display at Bernardsville Public Library celebrating National Library Week. It is designed to entice you, just like the concept behind a blind date, to take a chance on a book you might have overlooked before. The display features beautifully wrapped packages tied up with red bows- all mysterious, all with the potential to excite and please you. These "packages" are new fiction and nonfiction books, but they are truly anonymous "suitors." You won't know a book's title until you have checked one out, taken it home and pulled on that red ribbon. If you don't like what you see, simply return the book. If you are pleased with your "blind date," use the enclosed sheet to write a brief comment or review about it. Go ahead and flirt; it can't hurt!

Library Book Group to Read The Good Soldiers

2011-04-13T11:10:00.001-04:00

The Good Soldiers by Pulitizer Prize-winning reporter David Finkel tells the true and harrowing story of a U.S. battalion's deployment to an Iraqi town during the "surge." The author was embedded for eight months with the 2-16 soldiers out of Fort Riley and recounts their experiences in the dusty, but dangerous town of Rustamiya, outside the relative safety of Baghdad's Green Zone.

David Finkel is a Washington Post writer and knows how to report what he sees. What he saw in Iraq was the daily assault upon these good soldiers of boredom, outrage, hope, fear, substance abuse, despair and grave bodily injury. Finkel places quotes by President G.W. Bush at the beginning of each chapter to remind us of the administration's mindset about the war's progress, letting these statements stand in contrast to what the soldiers actually experienced and endured.

Fiction author Geraldine Brooks comments that The Good Soldiers is "an incandescent and profoundly moving book: powerful, intense, enraging. This may be the best book on war since the Iliad." Bernardsville Public Library's book group, Memoirs & Coffee, will discuss The Good Soldiers next Tuesday, April 26th, at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room. Copies of the book are now available at the library. New members are welcome to attend.

David Foster Wallace

2011-04-05T20:59:00.002-04:00

The Pale King, an unfinished novel by the late, laureled American author David Foster Wallace, will be released in bookstores next week. Because the premise of the story deals with the routine (or not) of work in an IRS center, the publisher set the release date to coincide with the normal deadline for tax filing, April 15th. Well, there are always those creative types who know their way around deadlines, and in this case, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are selling the book online at this very moment. Bernardsville Public Library will have a copy of the book available after the release date.

Book News and More posted a piece about David Foster Wallace at the time of his suicide in 2008. As is often the case, interest in this talented, but tormented writer increased posthumously. Just today a very extensive and unusual article was posted online at The Awl entitled, "Inside David Foster Wallace's Self-Help Library." Some of the self-help books Wallace heavily read and reread were highlighted here and interesting references were made to his mother, grammarian Sally Foster Wallace, as well. These books are among the collection of the author's papers at the University of Texas at Austin.

As this article states, "David Wallace was a person who dwelt in darkness either by nature or compulsion, or maybe even by mere habit, or maybe just because he'd been given the wrong medication. Depression is a very inward-turned and self-loathing thing: he trapped himself in this sort of interior abattoir. But like all depressed persons, Wallace loathed himself in error. He had a real value that others could see, but he could not."

Tom Rob Smith

2011-03-31T08:40:00.004-04:00

London-born writer Tom Rob Smith just may be the go-to author for people who are ready to move on from Stieg Larsson's Millenium series. Smith's first book, Child 44, bears all the hallmarks of a great crime thriller - enduring suspense, characters who grow with the well-plotted storyline, and a relevant setting of historical authenticity, in this case, post-Stalinist Russia. His subsequent novel, The Secret Speech, and an upcoming publication, Agent 6, carry forward the story of Leo Stepanovich Demidov, former member of the MGB, as he and his family adapt to his new position in the Soviet State security system.

At the heart of Child 44 is the mystery behind a seemingly inexplicable and horrible series of child murders occurring across a wide area of the Soviet Union. A secretive, paranoid regime is unable to acknowledge that such crimes are possible, let alone that they may be connected. Innocent victims face torture, character assassination, gulags and misery, all so that the myth of a perfect political state might be perpetuated. Meanwhile the vicious child slaughters continue unabated.

One man, Leo Demidov, develops the conscience and courage to investigate these murders as crimes of a serial killer. As the author notes on his Web site, "How a crime is investigated is a very useful litmus test for larger forces within a society, the priorities and prejudices of that world. I guess with CHILD 44 I wanted to combine both those elements, the puzzle and the period in which this puzzle is unraveling." Although the novel's child murders are based on the true crimes of Ukrainian serial killer Andre Chikatilo, Tom Rob Smith fits them into his own web of cause and effect, and once again it is Leo Demidov who is at the center of it all.

Smith shares that he was always a reader, loved adventure stories and took them in whatever form they came - mythology, history, science fiction, television, drama or film. Perhaps the author's work as a storyliner for various British television shows following his graduation from Cambridge helped shape Child 44 into a story that would translate well cinematographically. Apparently Ridley Scott, director of "Alien" and "Blade Runner," thinks so too, as he has bought the rights to the book for a future film production.

~Evelyn Fischel~

The library book group Saturday Samplers will discuss Child 44 on April 2nd at 3:30 p.m. in the small meeting room.

Child 44

2011-03-30T12:05:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Library book group, Saturday Samplers, will be discussing Tom Rob Smith's exciting crime thriller Child 44 at its next meeting this Saturday, April 2, at 3:30 p.m. Look here for a new posting coming shortly about the author and the book.

Saturday Samplers is an open-invitation book group which reads a varied selection of works, including nonfiction, fiction, short fiction and teen novels. Library staff member Evelyn Fischel leads the group and writes a blog, Saturday Samplers, on which you can access more information about the group and its reading list.

Mind Your Brain

2011-03-03T12:14:00.002-05:00

Mind your brain. Stop by the new book display "Mind: Your Brain" at Bernardsville Public Library to browse the latest information on the brain, the mind. Find books on neuroscience, brain disease and disorder, brain health and associated literature. Read what it's like to have a stroke in My Stroke of Insight, learn about bipolar and depressive conditions in The Unquiet Mind, key into what happens to your brain when you listen to music in the books This is Your Brain on Music and Musicophilia. There are many other interesting selections, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Left Neglected. This display is located in the center area of the library.

You're Never Too Old To Recall Your Past

2011-02-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

Harry Bernstein, now 100 years old, wrote his first memoir in 1997 entitled The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers. Describing his impoverished youth in a working class English mill town, Bernstein recalled with vivid and painful memories the religious prejudice on his street and within his family which kept Jews and Christians apart. Not everyone was so closed-minded; however, and so a tender love story emerges from this personal history. How this love grew and what happened to those involved makes for a wonderful story, but it is counterbalanced by the cruelty and oppressive presence of Harry's father and his damaging influence on the family. The Invisible Wall will be discussed by the library book group Memoirs and Coffee on Tuesday, February 22, at 10:30 a.m. in the Community Room. If you have read this book and would like to join the discussion, please feel free to attend.

New Cookbooks with Great Photos and Recipes

2011-01-28T13:43:00.001-05:00

Finally cookbook publishers are realizing that readers want to visualize the finished product before making an attempt at a recipe, especially one with a lot of ingredients and steps. The cookbooks shown below, new to Bernardsville Public Library, will not disappoint in that regard because they are heavily illustrated with beautiful color photographs for almost every recipe.

Try a young Irish blogger's first cookbook, Good Mood Food, for some delightful dishes. Donal Skehan's book features simple recipes with wholesome ingredients. For a great introduction to coffee - how to brew it in different manners - as well as delicious cake recipes, why not try (what else?) Coffee and Cake by Rick Rodgers? While you have the oven on, whip up a wide range of cookies from Crazy About Cookies by Krystina Castella. Each of the recipes will entice you with its accompanying photo. Then it's on to breadmaking. Peter Reinhart's book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, is a James Beard Foundation Book Award winner as well as The IACP Cookbook Awards winner. In it you will find many recipes and detailed photographs illustrating the breadmaking techniques required to turn out wonderful breads. Lavash, muffins, ciabatta, limpa, and brioche are just some of the bread recipes included in this lovely book.

Staff Pick: Unbearable Lightness

2011-01-20T11:09:00.001-05:00

Library staff member Linda Sexton has written the following review of actress Portia De Rossi's new book, which is available at Bernardsville Public Library.

"I just finished the memoir Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi. I wasn't sure what to expect since she is a celebrity, but the book was written with honesty and courage. The book is about her long battle with anorexia and subsequent binging and purging. Portia De Rossi also discusses the underlying fear she had that her homosexuality would be exposed to the public. It is nearly impossible to understand what it is like for someone to struggle with an eating disorder, but she lets us inside her mind and we can see what an unbearable burden it is. Her ultimate goal is to give hope to those who need it and to show that recovery is not easy, but possible. Once again I remember not to judge those whose lives look perfect on the outside."

Reflections on the 50 Book Challenge

2011-01-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

The first year of Bernardsville Public Library's 50 Book Challenge has drawn to a close, but a new year means a new challenge! The kick-off meeting for the next 50 Book Challenge will take place in the library on Saturday, January 22nd at 3:30 p.m., with Karen Vaias once again leading the program.

For those readers who participated in the 2010 Book Challenge, it's time to reflect on what the challenge has meant to them and how it has affected their reading choices. Several participants shared their insights through the following comments: "I undertook this challenge to actually GET myself reading again, and to think about what I was reading, and to that end, it has been very helpful. What I found myself doing, however, was "cheating" a bit, in terms of engaging with harder, more thought-provoking books." Another reader notes the same behavior in that she was not as selective in her choices as she used to be. Perhaps the competitive spirit drove these readers toward books they knew they could finish rather than longer texts.

One reader stated, "I love fiction, but I discovered new books in Spanish and English that I really enjoyed. I had neglected for about 20 years reading books in Spanish, but now I try to read some during the year." Several challenge participants discovered Young Adult literature to be very appealing, and others enjoyed listening to recorded books (for the narrators as much as for the stories.) In addition, the simple act of keeping a reading journal proved beneficial to many people. For one participant, reviewing her journal enabled her to see how these reading choices related to her emotional or intellectual needs over the past year. She noted that her books truly reflected a year in her life.

What to Read, What to Read...

2011-01-06T14:40:00.000-05:00

For those who like to read book reviews online, there are a number of good resources posted on the sidebar of Book News and More. Scroll down and look to the left for the heading, Book Links. Among the linkable sites listed is the American Library Association's resource, Booklist. Booklist Online allows you to read a large amount of free content in an organized and comprehensive format. For instance, from the current home page you can select "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books 2010" to open an expansive, annotated list of the best books in fiction and nonfiction from last year. The nonfiction titles are grouped by categories such as Arts and Literature, Poetry, Social Science, etc. Clicking on a title will bring up publication information as well as a review of the book. For a deeper search experience, you will be required to subscribe, but this is not necessary for general browsing purposes. Give it a try!

Short Stories Have A New Collection Area

2010-12-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

Bernardsville Library's short stories have been separated from the fiction shelves and now have their own collection area within the Fiction Wing. They are attractively showcased there to make quick browsing possible for our patrons and are marked with special spine labels. Short stories pack a punch, but don't drag out the punchline. As Polonius stated in Hamlet, "...brevity is the soul of wit..."

Feather Your Nest....

2010-12-08T16:05:00.002-05:00

with some nice holiday reading at Bernardsville Public Library. We have three different displays of books bound to bring cheer to this season of the year. In addition, a special array of holiday movies has been put on display for easier browsing as well.

Library Book Groups Meeting Next Week

2010-11-26T17:12:00.000-05:00

There will be two opportunities next week to join in book discussions at Bernardsville Library. Both library book groups will be meeting to discuss their respective selections, and you are welcome to participate.

Memoirs and Coffee book group will be discussing Temple Grandin's memoir, Thinking in Pictures: and other reports from my life with autism. Dr. Grandin is Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University and is a noted advocate of improved lifestock handling. She has designed numerous lifestock facilities around the world which are intended to reduce stress on animals and improve their productivity. Dr. Grandin also has autism, and in Thinking in Pictures, she reveals what it is like to live with autusm and think in picutres rather than words. Her memoir will be discussed this Tuesday, November 30, at 10:30 a.m. in the library Community Room.

Saturday Samplers book group will discuss The Invisible Wall: a love story that broke barriers by Harry Bernstein on Saturday, December 4, at 3:30 p.m. in the Small Meeting Room. Mr. Bernstein is a late-blooming author, having published this biography at the age of 96 in 2007. He has subsequently written two more books. The Invisible Wall recalls his youth in a Lancashire working class town where Jews and Christians lived on the same street, but separated themselves according to sides of the street. The author paints a very bleak picture of his brutish father, oppressed mother, and struggling siblings, and yet he counterbalances this with a very touching love story that indeed broke barriers.

Madame X in Literature and X-Rays

2010-11-08T15:16:00.001-05:00

As a follow-up to the Saturday Samplers book group discussion of Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis, here are a few points of interest that we learned.

The original version of the painting, Portrait de Mme ***, which caused such a stir at the Paris Salon of 1884, was captured in only one black and white photograph, seen above. The pose of Madame Gautreau with her jeweled strap seductively slipping off her shoulder brought notoriety to a painting which was not well received for several other reasons. Both the artist and subject were duly shocked by the critical furor, and Sargent retreated to England while Madame Gautreau (Mme. X) spent the rest of her life trying to reclaim her former position in Parisian society. At some point, Sargent repainted the strap to fit her shoulder (see image below.) Still believing that it was his finest work, he later sold the painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

By coincidence, two books published in 2003 (with similar book covers) addressed the compelling story behind this famous portrait. Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X used historical resources to describe Sargent's career and how it intersected with Mme. X in this one painting. While art historians know that there are many intriguing tales behind works of art, it takes a writer looking for a book subject to bring them to life for the general public. A second writer, Gioia Diliberto, chose to focus on Madame Gautreau, rather than the painting itself, in her publication, I am Madame X: a novel. This book is a highly imaginative, fictional account of an American woman born of French descent whose goal in life was to make a name for herself in belle époque France.

For interesting insights into how Sargent struggled with his composition of Madame X, repainting her profile at least eight times, please refer to the Saturday Samplers blog. There you will find a technical analysis done by the Metropolitan Museum of Art using X-radiography. You can see an X-ray image of the repainted strap as well.

A Freudian Slip of the Strap?

2010-11-04T00:23:00.001-04:00

Saturday Samplers, a Bernardsville Library book group, will discuss Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis on Saturday, November 6, at 3:30 p.m. in the library.

Strapless tells the fascinating story behind John Singer Sargent's famous portrait of Mme. Gautreau. This life-size oil painting caused an absolute sensation at the Paris Salon of 1884. Exhibited alongside hundreds of paintings by renowned and aspiring artists, Portrait de Mme ***, as Madame X singularly attracted the disdain of both art critics and the Parisian public.

Why should this particular painting of a Belle Epoch socialite arouse such instantaneous revulsion and criticism? After all, Mme. Gautreau was considered to be an exotically beautiful young woman known for her remarkable neckline and figure. Why should John Singer Sargent's work be so reviled when he had successfully exhibited paintings at previous Salons? Could the artist's placement of her loose dress strap be enough to inflame the French or were there other factors behind their general disdain for what is now considered to be a masterpiece? In Strapless, Sargent's career is examined in terms of the impact this portrait had on both the artist and the sitter, Madame X.
Review by Evelyn Fischel

Staff Pick: Anthony Doerr's Short Stories

2010-10-25T00:27:00.004-04:00

If you are looking for highly inventive, finely executed writing, give Anthony Doerr's books a try. Doerr's first publication was a set of short stories, The Shell Collector, which came out to positive reviews in 2002. Subsequent to that, he published the nonfiction work, Four Seasons in Rome, and a novel, About Grace. He continues to write for such magazines as McSweeney's, Orion, and Zoetrope: All-Story. and has just published a second collection of short fiction entitled Memory Wall: stories. His writing has received numerous awards including the O. Henry Prize, the Rome Prize, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award.

Both The Shell Collector and Memory Wall: stories contain imaginative stories with characters whose foibles, talents, and travails are brought to life in unusual, but convincing ways. For instance, "The Hunter's Wife, " in The Shell Collector, describes a marriage falling apart as a wife discovers her very special ability to feel the blissful life experiences of those recently deceased. She does this with animals and later with several people. This diviner of the dead forces her husband to touch her hand as she holds the leg of a doe he has just killed, creating a connection to the doe's receding life force. "Already the doe's vision was surging through her (wife's) body - fifty deer wading a sparkling brook, their bellies in the current, craning their necks to pull leaves from overhanging alders, light pouring around their bodies, a buck raising its antlered head like a king. A silver bead of water hung from its muzzle, caught the sun, and fell."

In Memory Wall: stories characters contend with their memories and what it means to lose memory or self-identification. This theme is symbolized in the story, "Village 113," by the Chinese town whose inhabitants are forced to give up their homes, community, and way of life so that the area can be submerged for a dam. The first story in the collection, "Memory Wall," uses science fiction to tell the wonderful human interest story of a young South African boy, Luvo, whose brain has been adapted to "read" the memories of an elderly woman with dementia. Luvo is as much a victim of memory loss as the woman. "Luvo believes he is somewhere around fifteen years old. He has very few memories of his own: none of his parents, no sense of who might have installed four ports in his skull and set him adrift among the ten thousand orphans of Cape Town. No memories of how or why." But Luvo still has intelligence and free will, and what he chooses to do with them makes for a powerful and beautiful story.

Review by Evelyn Fischel

She Would Have Preferred A Letter

2010-10-14T16:26:00.000-04:00

Diana Athill starts Instead of a Letter with a reflection on her elderly grandmother's death, noting that this woman had created a family, "a world for us," but what of herself, asks the author, "a woman who had never had the chance, or had missed the chance, to create something like that?" So begins the author's memoir which was first published in 1962 and reissued in 2010.

Instead of a Letter recounts Diana Athill's youth, family life in the British countryside, and an ill-fated love affair begun at the age of 15 with an Oxford student and RAF member. This passionate union was something momentous for young Diana. Apparently her lover felt otherwise because he left her with no explanation, marrying someone else before he died overseas. Athill was unable to work through this tragedy, or at least to confront him about it. She writes, "The times when the pain was nearest to the physical - to that of a finger crushed in a door, or a tooth under a drill - were not those in which I thought 'He no longer loves me' but those in which I thought 'He will not even write to tell me that he no longer loves me.'

Memoirs and Coffee, a Bernardsville Public Library book group, will discuss this memoir on Tuesday, October 26th, at 10:30 a.m. The book group is open to new members and is facilitated by Pat Kennedy-Grant. Please feel welcome to attend.

Bernardsville is a 5 Star-Rated Library

2010-10-05T16:10:00.001-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library has just been accorded a Five Star rating by Library Journal . Please refer to the Library Journal article for specifics about this rating and to see the very short list of libraries nationwide that earned five stars in our expenditure category, $400,000 to $999,999. These ratings are based on data gathered in 2008 after the recession had started. Bernardsville Public Library director, Karen Brodsky, is quoted in the article as noting that high usage levels were "partly because numerous people were using the library to find employment and to hone computer skills toward that effort." The library's electronic databases, Career Center, free computer classes, and the many programs dedicated to helping job seekers all contributed to attracting a large number of visitors. In addition, we are fortunate to have a loyal community of library users who make a visit to Bernardsville Library part of their daily routine.

Interpreter of Maladies To Be Discussed

2010-10-01T12:37:00.001-04:00

Bernardsville Library's book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet Saturday, October 2 at 3:30 pm to discuss Interpreter of Maladies: Stories (1999) by Jhumpa Lahiri.

This debut collection of short stories published in 1999 won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000 as well as the PEN/Hemingway Award and several other writing prizes. Jhumpa Lahiri has continued to make a literary name for herself with subsequent publications of The Namesake (2003) and Unaccustomed Earth (2008.) Read more about Jhumpa Lahiri on the Saturday Samplers blog.

Led by Readers’ Services Assistant, Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and even teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked books. Readers can find information about the group and authors at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com/. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion.

Bernardsville Library Observes "Banned Books Week"

2010-09-29T16:22:00.000-04:00

Every year the American Library Association celebrates our freedom to read by observing Banned Books Week. This year's observation takes place Sept. 25-Oct. 2, and Bernardsville Public Library is marking the occasion with a special book display featuring a large quantity of books which have been banned or challenged at one time by certain schools, governments, and organizations, both in America and around the world. To read more about the history of banned books, please refer to the ALA's information sheets. Our current book display is located in the lobby as you enter, and we welcome you to salvage these books from the trash cans in which they are displayed. See which classics of literature have been relegated to the trashheap at one time or another. Preserve your right to read: read!

Lust in the Library

2010-09-21T12:54:00.000-04:00

Nancy Pearl's your girl if you should find yourself overcome with lust in the library...lust for books, that is. Ms. Pearl is one of the preeminent readers' advisory librarians in the United States and the author of a book suggestion series which includes the titles Book Lust, More Book Lust, and Book Crush. She blogs, tweets and speaks her lust for books at gatherings all over the country and appears regularly on NPR's "Morning Edition" to discuss book topics.

Bernardsville Public Library is currently featuring a display of Nancy Pearl's suggested books as well as copies of her Book Lust series. Nancy covers all the genres and picks books you might not have heard about. We've made it easy for you; simply step right up and take an appealing book off the display.

Don't forget that the library has a dedicated area just for book suggestions and book clubs known as Book Find.
Book Find is located to the right as you enter the lobby and these books are marked by orange spine labels. You'll find Nancy Pearl's books there as well as targeted reading guides and helpful resources for book groups. In addition, our own librarians have made original bookmarks for different genres and topics. These colorful bookmarks are available at the circulation desk.

From Russia With Love...To America

2010-09-15T14:36:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library's book group, Memoirs and Coffee, will discuss Elena Gorokhova's book, A Mountain of Crumbs, at its next meeting on Tuesday, September 28th at 10:30 a.m. Born in Russia in the second half of the 20th century, Elena recounts her family's life under Soviet rule. Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee writes, "Elena Gorokhova conveys all the ugliness of daily life in Soviet Russia, as well as its humiliations, but is awake to its strangled, submerged poetry too."

Elena's love of language and her affinity for English inspired her to leave her native land, marry an American, and eventually move to New Jersey where she now resides. The opening lines of her memoir demonstrate the author's mastery of language and love of writing, "I wish my mother had come from Leningrad, from the world of Pushkin and the tsars, of granite embankments and lace ironwork, of pearly domes buttressing the low sky. Leningrad's sophistication would have infected her the moment she drew her first breath, and all the curved facades and stately bridges, marinated for more than two centuries in the city's wet, salty air, would have left a permanent mark of refinement on her soul."

Memoirs and Coffee is an open invitation book group led by library staff member, Pat Kennedy-Grant. New members are most welcome to attend, and copies of this book are available at the circulation desk.

Suggestions From Our Readers

2010-09-09T13:10:00.003-04:00

One of the pleasures of working at the library's circulation desk is the opportunity to have great conversations with people. As you would expect, we are often asked for our recommendations, and we happily share interesting things we've read, listened to, or viewed. In turn, we like to ask our patrons what they have enjoyed reading recently. The four books pictured above have been mentioned as particular stand-outs among the new items in the library. Family dynamics in each of these stories lead the characters to different consequences ranging from healing to disasterous. Our readers said they couldn't put these books down.

This Bok is a Hot

2010-08-25T15:02:00.003-04:00

Prim readers are given fair warning to duck and cover!

The title of Justin Halpern's new book, Sh*t My Dad Says, well, it says it all. Justin's dad says it over and over again, along with the F bomb in all its verb tenses, so you get the idea of this short, pungent and funny memoir.

The book categorizes a lifetime of Sam Halpern's comments into brief chapters illustrating how he handled episodes in his son's life. Chapters like Justin's cheating on a school science experiment, not wanting to share a bedroom with Grampa, and asking endless, stupid questions are all covered with a story and a series of pithy vulgarisms by dad. For example, on the topic of young Justin asking dumb hypothetical questions, his dad responded, "No. There's no scenario where I'd eat a human being, so you can stop making them up and asking me, understood? Jesus, is this how you spend your day, just coming up with this (expletive?)" You might not expect that dad is actually a doctor of nuclear medicine, but Sam Halpern tells it like he sees it to his son, and it is often painfully funny and blunt.

It is interesting to note that what started out as Justin Halpern's daily Twitter feed about his father evolved into this, his first book. In a similar fashion, books like Waiter Rant and A Homemade Life developed out of their authors' blogs. This demonstrates to me that social media (blogging and tweeting) do not necessarily take readers away from books. Rather, they seem to be providing publishers with a whole new treasure trove of material.

Review by Evelyn Fischel

Don't Mangle Foreign Languages - Mango Them!

2010-08-19T22:35:00.001-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to offer another new, exciting service for our patrons and community. Linking remotely through our Web site, you may now access Mango, an online language learning program designed to accelerate your language speaking skills. Mango's unique methodology copies the way people learn when immersed in a foreign culture - through practical conversation. Native speakers model phrases and bits of conversation which participants repeat, learning to combine them into meaningful dialogue. Before you know it, you will be communicating effectively in a foreign language.

Mango is fun, easy, and it works! Best of all, it's free to Bernardsville Library card holders through our Web site. Try Mango today or any time at your convenience. If you don't have a card, come into the library to see if you qualify for membership or consider the option of a reasonably-priced paid membership which grants full library privileges. Mango and the world of communication await you at Bernardsville Public Library.

Get a Free Pass

2010-08-13T21:42:00.001-04:00

As a new service for our patrons, Bernardsville Public Library is now offering museum passes which may be checked out for a four-day loan period. This idea was developed by the library staff and funded by the Friends of Bernardsville Public Library. These passes permit free entrance for a family as well as selected discounts. We are currently offering a pass to each of the following: the Morris Museum, Montclair Art Museum, Guggenheim Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History. Conditions apply, so please call or visit us for more information about this popular new library feature.

Michaele and Keiko Make a Splash at the Library

2010-08-03T23:03:00.001-04:00

Bernardsville youth services librarian Michaele Casey and library volunteer Keiko Matsuura have done it again...yet another great display for the children's summer reading program!

This year's theme is "Make a Splash at Your Library" and the accompanying book display does just that. Read more about this beautiful display by clicking here.

Keiko constructed the sea figures and young diver from paper, fabric and paint, and it took her very special imagination to assemble them all into a magical underwater scene.

Michaele borrowed a fabulous papier mache coral reef construction from the Bedwell School and made it the base of this floating world. What a perfect match! All around the coral can be found interesting books for children to borrow.

The children have been very enthusiastic about the reading program at Bernardsville Public Library this summer, in part because of this gorgeous book display.

Staff Recommendation: Read One, Then The Other

2010-07-28T23:54:00.003-04:00

I recently read two fascinating books which delve into the mysterious history of the Cape Ann settlement of Dogtown, now a part of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The books are Dogtown: death and enchantment in a New England ghost town by Elyssa East and The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant. Anita Diamant's fictional account of the decline of this impoverished settlement in the early 1800's uses historical characters in an imaginative and compelling way. Elyssa East approaches the history of the same forlorn region from a modern departure point - the shocking murder there of a local woman in 1984.

East's 2009 narrative nonfiction book combines an investigation of this murder with parallel storylines involving art history detection and local intrigue. The author initially intended to find the sources of inspiration for some of American artist Marsden Hartley's 1930's watercolors which featured the unusual topography of Dogtown, known for its boulders and strange rocky formations. Thinking she might be able to see the actual locations which Hartley painted, she travelled to Gloucester, bought a map of Dogtown, and promptly got lost in its disorienting woods. The area had long ago acquired a reputation for eerie happenings, a reputation which was further tarnished by the savage and pointless murder of a young woman in these very woods. Dogtown: death and enchantment in a New England ghost town will keep you engaged throughout, but it is regrettable that the author did not provide any prints of Hartley's Dogtown landscapes or any photos of the area.

Diamant's 2005 historical fiction book, The Last Days of Dogtown, fleshes together an interesting tale about the last survivors of the isolated and failing Dogtown Settlement at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Only fragmentary records and oral histories remain of Dogtown's demise and of the people who inhabited this remote area of Cape Ann. Many of Dogtown's inhabitants were shunned by Gloucester folk because they clung to old ways and refused to move into town. Some were suspected of practicing witchcraft and prostitution. Diamant expands the few historical vignettes about these people into a satisfying story of marginalized individuals living a desperate existence in a dying settlement. Some of these individuals are briefly mentioned in Elyssa East's book as well, but I was glad that Anita Diamant had given them fuller, though fictional lives. I do recommend both of these books.

Review by Evelyn Fischel

Patrons Have Been Reading...

2010-07-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a sampling of some of the books our patrons have been reading this summer. Among the contributors are several members of the library's 50 Book Challenge.

Adrienne writes: "I've tortured myself reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It's part philosophical, part political (about the effect the events of 1968 had on people), and part emotional - a love story. The first 100 pages were tough, but I kept going and actually wound up liking the book." On a lighter note, Adrienne also reports, "I'm reading a very interesting book by Ruth Reichl, Garlic and Sapphires, about her early days as food critic for the NY Times. Reichl disguises herself, and falls into character, to avoid recognition by the restaurant owners so she can enjoy a meal and write a review about the food and service as an ordinary person. Her characters will make you laugh and her dining experiences will make you hungry."

Tish listened to Sherman Alexie's YA novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and writes: "I highly recommend the recording. Alexie reads it himself, and his sing-songy Indian-accent delivery is like performance art. Hilarious and heartbreaking. I have also listened to two funny books on CD that I can recommend: I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron, and Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog by Lisa Scottoline. Both are collections of short essays, and both had me weeping with laughter."

Carol relates that she has listened to An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon which was narrated by Davina Porter. Carol says "Ms. Porter has narrated the entire Outlander Series of which this is the seventh book. With her British accent and Scottish brogue Davina creates the perfect atmosphere for a love story which takes place in two different centuries. I have truly enjoyed this series and was disappointed to hear I will not see the next book until 2013!!!"

Finally, Ronald shared a link to comments he made regarding Richard A. Clarke's new book, Cyber War.

Kids: Dip Into Some Great Summer Reading!

2010-06-30T23:26:00.000-04:00

The first week of Bernardsville Public Library's summer reading program has started with a SPLASH! In fact, that's the theme of the statewide reading program for children this summer - "Make a Splash at Your Library."

As you enter the library lobby, you will be immersed in a beautiful display created in part by library volunteer Keiko Matsuura and Youth Services librarian Michaele Casey with contributions as well from Bedwell School. This display depicts a fantastic underwater scene complete with coral, wondrous sea life and a startled diver. Jellyfish, squid, a sea turtle and various fish appear to swim in mid-air as a young diver descends into the watery realm. The diver is as surprised as you will be when you see just how gorgeous this underwater world is. Books about sea life have been placed around the display by our Youth Services librarians, and children are encouraged to borrow these books.

Be sure to register your children for this program soon. The sooner they get their feet wet, the sooner they will become great readers!

Recent Reading Choices from the 50 Book Challenge for 2010

2010-06-09T15:42:00.004-04:00

Participants in Bernardsville Public Library's 50 Book Challenge have been busy reading a wide variety of books - both new and old, fiction and nonfiction.

Certain titles keep cropping up such as Ian McEwan's Saturday, which was well received, and Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project, a book of self-help principles on the nature of happiness. Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo elicited the most responses, some of them very positive, but a few quite negative. Several readers thought the level of violence was unexpected and gratuitous, but others found the character, Lisbeth Salander, so intriguing that they could overlook other failings in the book.

Audiobooks are permitted in the Challenge, too. Among these, An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon was highly recommended for both the story and the skill of the narrator, Davina Porter. Another Challenge participant loved listening to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Less well-known, interesting books read by the Challenge participants include Yiyun Li's The Vagrants about China after the Cultural Revolution and The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy by Judith Pearson. This last book was said to be a very exciting read about female heroism in the diplomatic world.

While the 50 Book Challenge for 2010 is now half over, new members are welcome to join in the reading fun. We invite book lovers to challenge themselves to their own personal reading goal. For more information, come into the library or visit our Web site to sign up.

More Staff Picks

2010-05-14T18:04:00.002-04:00

Susan really liked Sarah's Key by Tatiana deRosnay. She states that the book "chronicles the 1942 Jewish roundup in Paris, a tragedy revisted by an American journalist married to a Frenchman whose family is in complete denial and wants to leave the entire matter in the past...well worth the read."

Felicia loves Amy Bloom's books, including her most recent, Where the God of Love Hangs Out. Felicia said these short stories did not disappoint her and that the characters were memorable.

Gerry read Still Alice by Lisa Genova and found it to be a powerful, important book. A fictional account of the day-to-day life of a renowned neuroscientist who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, Still Alice kept Gerry turning the page. She couldn't put it down.

Evelyn greatly enjoyed Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster. It's a highly imaginative, wild ride through the history of 20th century America featuring a young country boy trained to do a mind-boggling feat by Mr. Vertigo himself.

Earth Day Selections at Bernardsville Public Library

2010-04-22T11:50:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set aside each April to take action on environmental causes or simply to reflect on the relationship of man to Earth and the consequences of human activity on the planet's ecosystems.

Reading is one way to reflect on Earth Day 2010, and Bernardsville Public Library is stocked with many interesting and informative books on the subject. For instance, there are brand new publications such as Jeff Goodell's 2010 book, How to Cool the Planet, which explores how we might "geoengineer" our way out of global warming. The WorldWatch Institute's State of the World 2009 is another book addressing current environmental issues of concern.

For a contemplative approach to Earth Day, try the comprehensive anthology American Earth: environmental writing since Thoreau, edited by Bill McKibben in 2008. Containing over 1000 pages of selections from American authors, this volume offers short works from such fiction writers as Annie Dillard, Russell Baker, E. B. White, and Philip K. Dick as well as the words of the environmentalists/naturalists John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson and Paul Hawken, among others. In the same vein, the 2008 publication Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: the environmental vision of C. S. Lewis by Matthew T. Dickerson examines the writings of C. S. Lewis for his views on man's stewardship of the environment.

There are also many wonderful Earth Day books for children at Bernardsville Public Library. Even Dora the Explorer has her own book. Available in the children's wing are numerous activity books with age-appropriate ideas to help your child celebrate this day. A new book, Earth Heroes: champions of the wilderness, by Bruce Malnor is recommended reading to introduce your child to the life stories of great leaders in the environmental movement. Ask our helpful librarians for further suggestions and enjoy the day!

Staff Picks

2010-04-06T19:57:00.000-04:00

Here are some reading and listening ideas from a few of our staff members. Look for another posting soon with suggestions from other staff members at Bernardsville Library. Don't hesitate to ask us about these books.

Margaret enjoyed reading Dean Koontz's, A Big Little Life, a book about the author's first dog. A dog owner herself, Margaret can recommend other good books about good pets.

Karen V. listened to an audiobook recording of The Piano Teacher by Janice Yee. She just loved it and thought that it was a great World War II-era story set in Hong Kong.

Rosalie recommends the audiobook recording of Kathryn Stockett's blockbuster debut book, The Help. She says she couldn't stop listening to it and thought it was a riveting story.

Linda enjoyed Anita Brookner's Strangers, saying that she really got to know the characters and what their day to day lives were like. Brookner is one of Linda's favorite authors.

50 Book Challenge to the Rescue

2010-03-31T21:31:00.000-04:00

What do you do when adversity "takes you down" - at least for a while? In the case of this blogger with a nicely broken wrist, there's not much else to do but read, and so I have plunged single-handedly into Bernardsville Public Library's 50 Book Challenge for 2010.

As luck would have it, someone recommended a good book to me the very night before my accident, so when I returned from the E.R., I took up Immaculee Ilibagiza's memoir, Left To Tell, a tale of her great faith and survival during the Rwandan genocide. There's nothing like reading about harrowing and unimaginable suffering to put one's own whimperings into perspective.

Finding that misery really does love company, I rushed on to disaster stories next. How exciting was The Lost City Of Z, by David Grann, about a failed expedition to the Amazon which sought to locate a mythical archaeological site in the early part of the 20th century!

Why not read about a shipwreck next?! Being lost at sea had to be worse than nursing a broken bone, and, yes, it certainly was in Nathaniel Philbrick's, In the Heart of the Sea. This nonfiction book is based on accounts of two survivors of the whale ship Essex which was stove by a whale - yes, I learned a new word, too, (stove) - in 1820. Herman Melville also thought the original accounts of this shipwreck made for a good yarn since he used the Essex story as a framework for Moby Dick. One thing leads to another, it seems, so I, in turn, reread the atmospheric parts of Melville's Moby Dick.

By now it was time for some heartwarming animal stories. I recommend Making Rounds With Oscar by David Dosa for those who love cats and for those who are caregivers or relatives of Alzheimers patients. The physician author gives gentle, good advice that could help families to accept the slippery slope of this disease. He also recounts the story of the hospice cat, Oscar, who unfailingly appears at the bedsides of those patients about to die. For a lighter but equally touching animal story, I tried The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery. Who couldn't love a dear little runt of the litter, but who would guess the piglet would grow into a 750 pound hog with a gift for companionship? This was a very sweet tale within a curly tail.

It was then that I picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel. How circular my reading had now become! My earlier books about faith and suffering, shipwrecks, storytelling, and animals all came together in this one curious piece of fiction.

I think those of you who participate in a dedicated reading routine such as the 50 Book Challenge will also find patterns emerging in your book choices and in the notions expressed by your authors. You, too, will delight in seeing how ideas and themes can be written and rewritten in so many wondrous and diverse ways.

~Evelyn Fischel

Stieg Larsson and the Millenium Series

2010-03-04T23:36:00.002-05:00

Bernardsville Public Library finds the published works of Stieg Larsson to be wildly popular beginning with his first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In fact, Larsson's books are international sensations. By one estimation of worldwide sales in 2008, Larsson ranked only second behind Kahled Hosseini (The Kite Runner.) The library book group, Saturday Samplers, will discuss The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at its meeting this Saturday, March 6th, 3:30 p.m., and I initially wrote the following author profile for them, but I think others might be interested in learning a bit about this once promising, but now deceased writer.

Swedish author Stieg Larsson poured a lifetime of causes and interests into the few pieces of fiction, collectively known as the Millenium series, which he wrote before his untimely death at the age of 50 in 2004. Issues such as feminism, fascism, corporate crime and the role of media in Sweden propelled his life as an activist and as a writer. These same issues fall front and center in his books.

Professionally, Larsson was a graphic designer for Tidningarnas Telegrambyra, a Swedish news agency, but he devoted much of his time to investigative journalism, political activism, ethics causes and (to throw a curveball here) the promotion of science fiction. A member of the Communist Workers League and editor of a Trotskyist journal, Fjarde internationalen, Stieg Larsson put his political beliefs into action by founding the Expo Foundation, a Swedish organization formed to counteract racist and extreme right-wing Swedish groups. He was the editor for this foundation’s magazine, entitled Expo, which is more than a coincidence as the character, Mikael Blomkvist, also publishes a magazine, Millenium, in Larsson’s books.

Karl Stig-Erland Larsson was born in the northern town of Skelleftea, Vasterbotten, Sweden in 1954, but changed the spelling of his name to Stieg as an adult. He was intimately familiar with the culture, landscape and “personality” of the north, having been raised in the country by his grandparents. This knowledge is apparent in his descriptions of the towns and countryside in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. As a young man he pursued interests in photography, and he enjoyed reading science fiction and mysteries.

His efforts to expose racism, neo-Nazism and extremist groups active in Sweden garnered him numerous death threats. For self-protection, he and Eva Gabrielsson, his partner of 32 years, sought to hide their personal information and address as much as possible, and this is why they never married because under Swedish law a married couple must publish their address. The fact that they were not married became a legal issue after Larsson died of a sudden, massive heart attack. Swedish law did not recognize Gabrielsson as his wife, and Larsson’s estate went to his father and brother, neither of whom were close to him nor had the intimate understanding of Larsson’s writings as did Eva Gabrielsson. The Guardian Observer just published an interesting interview with Gabrielsson which provides further insight into Larsson’s life and literary pursuits through Eva's eyes.

Stieg Larsson died having completed three books which he had hoped to turn into an exended series. Known as the Millenium series, they are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish title being Men Who Hate Women), The Girl Who Played with Fire, and finally The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Swedish title being The Aircastle that Blew Up.) The first book has been released in film form by Swedish and English companies and the next two books are to be turned into television productions. The poster for the Swedish film illustrated above gives you some sense of how the book's characters have been portrayed on film.

Do You Have The Olympic Spirit?

2010-02-18T11:29:00.000-05:00

Bernardsville Public Library has performed a triple salchow for sports fanatics who can’t get enough of the Winter Olympics. Our "Olympic Spirit" book display in the nonfiction wing is loaded with interesting books on popular winter sports as well as the history of the Olympics themselves. Look for our super-sized snowflake and Olympic rings marking this display. Check out a few items and keep the spirit alive even after the games have finished.

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

2010-02-04T11:24:00.002-05:00

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

2010-01-28T15:53:00.002-05:00

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

2010-01-20T12:47:00.002-05:00

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

2010-01-18T10:09:00.000-05:00

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?

2010-01-13T17:54:00.001-05:00

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?

2010-01-07T13:15:00.001-05:00

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

2009-12-09T22:45:00.000-05:00

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

2009-12-02T17:54:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-25T11:51:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-19T11:03:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-13T12:19:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-05T14:21:00.000-05:00

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

2009-10-28T15:40:00.000-04:00

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

2009-10-22T11:20:00.001-04:00

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

Bite Into These Vampire Stories

2009-10-19T15:46:00.001-04:00

If you’re hunting for some reading thrills and chills, why not bite into the great selection of vampire fiction currently on display at Bernardsville Library? Let your imagination experience the flutter of batwings on your shoulder or the caress of a vampire lover who (perhaps) may not be all that bad. Try authors known for their vampire series such as Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton or Anne Rice. And, of course, you shouldn’t overlook the original vampire story, Dracula, by Bram Stoker, now available in a new annotated edition.

There's Something Rotten In The Compost Heap And That's A Good Thing!

2009-10-12T19:21:00.000-04:00

Bernardsville Library will be holding a program on the care of your fall garden this Wednesday, October 14th, at 7 p.m. entitled "Autumn Adventures in Your Vegetable Garden." Learn how to clean up your beds, winter over your plants, and start a sustainable compost pile to enrich your soil for the spring planting season. Wanda Knapik of MyLocalGarden will lead this informative evening lecture. You will also find a number of books in the library to help you with the finer points of composting, such as the titles shown above.

Waiting For Something?

2009-10-01T10:55:00.001-04:00

While you wait for your library copy of Dan Brown's newest book, The Lost Symbol, cool your heels at our library display featuring Dan Brown read-alikes. There you will find an enticing selection of similarly-themed books guaranteed to captivate your imagination. You will be intrigued.

Expand Your Career Options

2009-09-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

Are you looking for a job or considering a career change? Have you been thinking about starting a new business? Are you seeking professional licensing or certification? Taking any of these actions could potentially change your life for the better, and Bernardsville Public Library is prepared to help you along that pathway. Visit the library's newly updated Career Center which is filled with information for career guidance, continuing education, job search skills, exam and test preparation, and self-employment resources.

In addition to the many paper resources located in the Career Center, the library has dedicated several computer stations to career and business development. These computers offer excellent databases which may help you to write a winning cover letter, sharpen your skills or find that perfect job. If you are unable to visit the library, simply use our online databases. Click on the "Business & Consumer" link to find a number of valuable e-resources.

Library Volunteers Keiko Matsuura and Bob Baker Honored Today

2009-09-15T21:13:00.001-04:00

Bernardsville residents, Bob Baker and Keiko Matsuura, were recognized for their outstanding volunteer service to Bernardsville Public Library at a reception held on the library's patio this afternoon.

The Board of Trustees organized this event which included refreshments, speeches and awards. Board members, staff and friends were in attendance to show their appreciation.

Bob has given many hours of service to the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program he manages at the library. VITA provides free assistance with income tax preparation for people with low or moderate incomes. He also provides free computer instruction at the library. Keiko has brightened the library with her artistic talents over the last four years. As a Youth Services volunteer, she has given origami classes and programs on Japanese culture to our patrons. Keiko is also the creator of our wonderful summer reading displays including this year's creative pigs and last year's summer reading bugs. We truly appreciate all the dedication and time that Bob, Keiko and our many other wonderful volunteers have offered to the library.

Bring Home The Bacon

2009-09-09T16:59:00.002-04:00

Our "Be Creative" summer reading pigs are closing up the circus tent and looking for good homes to go to after a wildly successful summer appearance at Bernardsville Public Library. These papier mache piggies have charmed and delighted us with their various talents, including juggling, painting, singing, and dancing. They have inspired the children to test out their own creative interests under the guidance of the Youth Services staff as well. Now it is time for them to retire to happy homes, and so the library has set up a silent auction this week where you can bid on each of the available pigs.

Come into the library, enter your bid on the clipboard of the pig you want, and check regularly to see if someone has outbid you. Then return the favor and outbid them! It's for a good cause, as all the proceeds go to fund the childrens' programs here. You have until 11 a.m. Saturday, September 12th, to clinch the bidding on your favorite porker. Winners will be announced that afternoon at 2 p.m. We want to thank library volunteer, Keiko Matsuura, once again for creating these wonderful, creative pigs.

Get the School Year Off to a Good Start with a Library Card

2009-09-08T16:57:00.000-04:00

A library card should be at the top of your list for back-to-school supplies, and Bernardsville Public Library is ready to sign you up for one. The American Library Association has designated September as Library Card Sign-up Month, but we encourage area employees, residents, and students to get their cards at any time the library is open. A Bernardsville Library card provides you with access to all the library's programs, online resources, materials, and services. Children who use their Bernardsville Library cards in September are eligible for prizes, too, and students can jumpstart a great academic year ahead with the help of all our resources. For young or old, a library card could prove to be the most valuable piece of plastic in your wallet.

A Perfect Place To Disappear

2009-09-04T22:14:00.001-04:00

Lake of the Woods, the 950,400 acre lake which straddles the border between Minnesota and Canada, is not a locale where you want to get lost, but it is THE perfect place in which to disappear. With over 14,000 islands and extensive forests, this remote area could easily swallow up a lost person. It is also a great place to stage one's disappearance if so desired. In addition, the massive lake affords a wonderful opportunity to dispose of a body without detection. What if someone suddenly vanished here? Who would know which possible scenario had really happened? That's the premise of Tim O'Brien's excellent book, In the Lake of the Woods.

The lake proves to be the ideal setting for O'Brien to examine the idea of inexplicable loss with all its myriad, painful angles. In this 1994 book the author creates a fascinating human drama centered on a troubled couple seeking solace and/or escape on a remote section of the lakefront. The husband is trying to blot out the disappointment and disgrace of his political downfall, and it is clear that he has become figuratively lost. His wife's story, on the other hand, is revealed mostly through her husband's reflections and the must-read footnotes. For early in the plot, it is the wife who becomes physically lost, vanishing suddenly in the night. From this point on, the story expands into both a mesmerizing mystery story and a somber reflection on self-knowledge. In fact, the idea of being lost to oneself becomes paramount as the story unfolds.

In true Tim O'Brien style, a traumatic episode from the Vietnam War plays a significant role as do the recalled experiences from the man's youth. There are a minimum of characters, but they are well drawn, and additional character input comes from the truly engrossing footnotes. While there are no comforting resolutions or easy answers, In the Lake of the Woods is a fabulous book right to the ending.
Book review by Evelyn Fischel

Become a Fan of Bernardsville Library on Facebook

2009-08-26T16:40:00.010-04:00

If you use Facebook, Bernardsville Public Library cordially invites you to become a fan of the library on the new Facebook page! This is a great way to keep up with library news, events, discussion topics, and resources. Please interact with us by posting comments and by taking part in discussions. You'll notice that Book News and More currently is running the library's Facebook feed on its sidebar. From this box you can easily click the "become a fan" button or simply enter Bernardsville Public Library in the Facebook search bar. Hope to see your face among our fans!

I Want One of Those!

2009-08-22T12:43:00.007-04:00

Please refer to "Library Cards" on Bernardsville Public Library's Web site to learn whether you are eligible for a Bernardsville card. You'll notice that we have several reciprocal arrangements with local towns and library federations. We also offer borrowing privileges to certain student and worker populations. Many people love our library, but don't fit into these categories, and they, too, are able to borrow from us by purchasing a nonresident card. We hope to see you here soon.

Weed... or Read?

2009-08-17T11:31:00.006-04:00

The summer heat is finally on, and it's too hot to do anything except read. So drop by Bernardsville Public Library's display, Relax with a Good Book, and help yourself to some great books. Maybe a "staycation" at home is all you need.
If, on the other hand, the travel bug has been buzzing in your ear, sample some interesting fiction and nonfiction about living or traveling abroad. Just visit the Oversize Collection area at the library to browse some books about exotic locales before you book your trip.

Summer Prizes For Adults Will Continue Through August

2009-08-10T14:54:00.010-04:00

The children's summer reading program at Bernardsville Public Library has attracted a large number of young readers, and they are eagerly accumulating points for prizes. But we also want to thank our adult readers for their patronage. Each summer we offer them an opportunity to enter a weekly drawing for lovely prizes as well as the grand prize at summer's end. All they need do is check out three or more adult-level items and fill out an entry slip at the circulation desk. We are grateful to local merchants and other donors for the wonderful prizes we have been able to offer each week, including great gift certificates for local goods and services.

En Francais/Auf Deutsch/En Espanol - At The Library!

2009-08-05T16:39:00.020-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library is currently offering a special loan of books in French and German for our patrons who want to read in their native languages or for those who want to test their language skills. French authors include Suzanne Bernard and Gilbert Sinoue. There are also many French translations of books by popular authors such as Tess Gerritsen and Catherine Coulter. Books by Austrian and German authors Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Rainer Maria Rilke are also intermingled with German translations of writers like Ken Follett. These French and German books are located on a special cart next to the rotunda. In addition, a new loan of Spanish literature will soon be available to supplement our own collection of books, magazines, and dvds in Spanish. Enjoy reading in another language!

Bernardsville Library Hours For August

2009-08-03T11:09:00.004-04:00

Monet, The Walk, Lady with a Parasol, l875

Bernardsville Public Library will close at 2 p.m. on Saturdays in August and remain closed on Sundays. Our regular weekly hours continue unchanged. Put the library on your list for Saturday mornings, and then enjoy the great outdoors for the rest of the weekend.

Theater In The Round Program Coming This Saturday

2009-07-31T13:21:00.007-04:00

Bernardsville Public Library's Teen Advisory Council has planned a fun-filled afternoon for families this Saturday, August 1st, at the library from noon to 2 p.m. The teens have organized this afternoon of events to highlight the summer reading campaign, Be Creative At Your Library. Starting at noon, families will be able to move through various activity centers where they can try out some fun things. Learn simple origami with library volunteer Keiko Matsuura. Attempt the hoola hoop challenge out on the patio. Taste test and judge the top teen dessert entered in a dessert cook-off. And make an animal hat to wear to the Aesop's Fables performance beginning at 1 p.m. The teens and other volunteers will perform three of Aesop's fables in the Community Room at that time. All activities will be finished by 2 p.m. when the library closes for its new Saturday hours in August, 10-2 p.m.

Bernardsville Tweets And So Can You

2009-07-28T07:21:00.017-04:00

Check out Bernardsville Public Library's colorful and informative Twitter page, Bville Tweets, for the latest library news. Become a follower @ http://twitter.com/BvilleTweets to get the library's feed directly - just click "follow" on our Twitter page. You can also read our updates on this blog, Book News and More, and on our library MySpace page. These updates are posted in the small blue Twitter box on both sites.

To learn how Twitter works, attend a presentation by Amy Kearns, tweeter extraordinaire and Program Coordinator from the Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, being given tomorrow evening, July 29th, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of Bernardsville Public Library. Microblog your thoughts with brevity and speed the Twitter way. Amy will show you how - it's easy and fun.