The Briny Deep

Neither sailors nor readers want to find themselves "in the doldrums" - languishing in a torpid state, going nowhere - yet August is a time of year when readership can be affected by the weather.  We're halfway through a sweltering summer and exhausted by it.  We need a bit of sea spray and a cool, off-shore breeze to revive us.  We need to read some nautical tales!  


To find the right book for you, try Bookmarks Magazine's reading list, 101 Crackerjack Sea Books, which includes book jacket illustrations along with good annotations.  You'll find all the classic sea stories among its many recommendations, but as this list was complied in 2006, please keep in mind subsequent notable books such as Simon Winchester's Atlantic or Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea.  Still, it's a good start. And starting is what it's all about when getting out of the doldrums.

David Foster Wallace

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." 

What to Read, What to Read...

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!

Become a Fan of Bernardsville Library on Facebook

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!

Bernardsville Tweets And So Can You

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.

Polka Dots To Live or Die?

Is there a doctor in the house? Our polka dot Blogger template, which once shimmered with subtle shades of gray and celadon as seen above, has now started to look anemic and thoroughly washed out on certain monitors, but not on others. What's with that? I was rather fond of those little happy dots; they reminded me of button candy, but now they look like this:

Sad. I took these pictures from the same monitor so that you can see the change. In the end I may have to pull the plug on this template and go with something else. Anyone have a diagnosis? Are you getting the sickly yellow version or the happy, shimmery dot version?

Bernardsville Tweets...

You can now follow up-to-the-last-second news from Bernardsville Public Library by looking for the lovely blue Twitter box prominently situated on the library's blog Book News and More and on the library's MySpace page. Our Twitter box is entitled "Bernardsville Tweets." Use the up and down arrow on the Twitter box to navigate through older "tweets" dating back to March as well. We promise not to bore you with jazz about what we had for lunch, but we will keep you informed of things happening currently or in the near future at the library. This way you can take advantage of all that Bernardsville Public Library has to offer.

Try Out One of Our Links to Great Book Information

Book News and More provides a lot of interesting links on its sidebar, one of which - BookPage - is being featured here:

BookPage is a monthly print publication which brings you the latest news about authors and recently published works. BookPage is available online as well, so simply scroll down our sidebar to "Book Links" and click on BookPage. 


Bernardsville Public Library also provides free copies of this full-color, multipage newspaper. Copies may be found at the circulation desk or near the online catalog. Many of our patrons rely on BookPage for reading suggestions or to keep them apprised of publication dates for upcoming titles. In fact, our copies of BookPage almost always run out before the end of the month, so if you can't find a print copy in the library, simply use the online version available to you via the Book News and More blog.

Click Away

"So, just what are those links on the sidebar of the Book News and More blog and where will they take me?" Well, they certainly will not take you to creepyville or spam territory or the dreaded crash zone. These links are here to provide you with great reading and reference resources. They will help you find such varied information as the ratings of popular movies or a list of books in a particular series. There's even a link that lets you bypass the usual long phone menu when you dial a company's 800 number - instead you speak directly with a live human being. That's pretty powerful information, isn't it? To get linked in, all you have to do is scroll down the sidebar of our blog and click away.

Go Ahead...Push That Button!

As more and more people have recently discovered, local and state libraries are among the best places to go for help in addressing today's challenging economic problems. Numerous postings on the Book News and More blog have educated you about some of the ways Bernardsville Public Library can help you weather these financial storms. Simply click on the word "economy" on this blog's labels to find these postings. Now the New Jersey State Library has stepped in to offer a well organized Web site which pulls together a wealth of information and links addressing today's areas of economic concern. Whether seeking food stamps, dealing with a possible home foreclosure, finding employment or locating family assistance organizations, New Jersey citizens (and anybody else) can now click their way to authoritative online information. This site provides helpful tools in the categories of work, finance, housing, health, parenting and senior issues. Veterans seeking job assistance will find a link for this, seniors in need of help with utility bills may gather information, and families dealing with the emotional fall-out from stress can find answers to mental health questions as well. Click on the button above or http://gethelp.njlibraries.org/ to get help!

"Book News And More" Celebrates A Year Of Blogging

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