Here's A Staff Pick With No Questions Asked!

Susan Popper, staff member at Bernardsville Public Library, has written the following thumbs-up review of Q & A: a novel by Vikas Swarup:

So you think you have all the answers? For Ram Mohammed Thomas, it was his luck & misfortune that he did. By now the story is well known. Q & A is the basis for the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire and so has taken on a new life.

This book has a lot of heart. Set in the squalor of the largest slum in the world in Mumbai, India, it follows the early life of this uneducated but endearing young man who wins the fictional game show, "Who Will Win a Billion?". Q & A is a great read. It is a blend of farce, drama, and romance and holds your attention as you learn, through a series of flashbacks, how Ram managed to answer twelve random questions that made him the big winner.

Amidst the noise, filth, and squalor that comprise his existence, Ram encounters a cast of characters who use their desperate poverty to excuse themselves from ordinary standards of behavior. You can't help but root for this endearing character and share in his happy ending. As a bonus, Q & A provides the reader a deeper insight into today's India and reflects a country poised between its rich past and growing modernity. Ram, and the other young people in this book, personify this change.

I would recommend reading Q & A before seeing the movie. Already seen the movie? Read the book anyway. It's a celebration of the human spirit. Enjoy!
-Susan Popper

(Please note that Q & A will be available soon as a Bernardsville Public Library book group bag selection. A copy of the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, will be included in the bag along with 10 copies of the book and discussion questions.)

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2009

Evelyn Fischel, staff member at Bernardsville Public Library, has written the following book review and news posting:

Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge has been awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The book, written in 13 parts, presents an exceptional character study of Olive Kitteridge, a retired school teacher living in a small Maine town. Various residents of the town come into and out of her life in the 13 stories which tend to move forward and backward in time. Some of these secondary characters appear in a number of the short stories, but others are never heard from again although their storylines are quite compelling. But no matter. It is Olive, a strong-willed, well-developed and complex character, whose life we are coming to know through fragments and tangents. These small revelations crystallize things about her youth, her declining years, her interrelationships with family and strangers, - her place in the universe - that coalesce into a memorable and thoughtful portrait. I would highly recommend Olive Kitteridge to readers of fiction and short stories.
~Evelyn Fischel

Earth, Trees and Thee

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

This is a busy week for ecological celebrations. Earth Day will spring up for it 39th anniversary on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two days later comes Arbor Day which was first organized in 1872 and is always held on the last Friday in April. What both these days need (besides water and sunshine) is an army of volunteers to tend to the landscape and care for the earth. Good thing National Volunteer Week is taking place this very week as well! Click on the active links here to find out how you can participate in the celebrations and activities planned.

Bernardsville Public Library has a number of books about environmental issues. Included among the newer books are the following titles:

You'll find these among the new nonfiction books near the circulation desk.

CRACK! Goes The Bat... Baseball Season Has Opened

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

You'll find a great new display in the children's section of Bernardsville Public Library marking the beginning of America's favorite spring ritual, baseball. Look for the Yankee's shirt and the stadium poster painted by Keiko Matsuura in the entry to the Fiction Wing. Browse through the numerous books on display and take a few home.

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

Felicia Ballard, Youth Services assistant, has written the following posting to alert you to some of the great books featured here:

What better harbinger of spring is there than the green fields of baseball stadiums, whether they be the brand new ones in NYC or our own humble local fields! Celebrate the season by reading a biography of a favorite player past or present.


Try the award winnning book by David Adler, entitled Lou Gehrig: the Luckiest Man. Read about the careers of Babe Ruth, Roy Campanella, Willie Stargell. Or if your interest skews towards more current players, check out books on Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter or even A Rod.


Why not learn about one of only three women to play in the Negro Leagues in A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson by Michelle Y. Green. Peanut had a wicked curveball!

Or take tips from Olympic softball medalist Dot Richardson in her book, Go For It! Whatever you choose, your reading enjoyment will surely soar like a ball heading over the wall for a grand slam! ~ Felicia Ballard

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.

Upcoming Selections for Bernardsville Library's Book Groups

Copies of the next selections for Bernardsville Public Library's two book discussion groups are now available at the circulation desk.

Memoirs & Coffee will read Doris Lessing's Alfred & Emily which chronicles her parent's unhappy relationship following World War I. Lessing adds a twist to the story by giving a speculative account of what her parents' lives might have been like if they had not married. Alfred & Emily will be discussed on Tuesday, April 28th, at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday Samplers will discuss Loving Frank by Nancy Horan for its next meeting on Saturday, May 2, at 3:30 p.m. This debut fiction novel, wildly popular since it was published in 2007, recounts the love affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney who met when the architect was designing a house for the Cheneys. Both were married to other people at the time, and the decision to go off to Europe together caused a scandal which ended tragically when they returned to the U.S. This title should provide a very interesting book discussion.

Display Your Home Improvement Skills

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

We know a thing or two about turning a house into a home - a cardboard home, that is. Now you, too, can bolster your home improvement skills with the help of the books in our new display.

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

This display, located in the nonfiction wing of Bernardsville Public Library, showcases books that will help you spruce up your home inside and out. Do you want to learn how to build a deck? Could your home use some "curb appeal" before you try to sell it?

Pop on over to our display for some great ideas and projects, including how to build a greenhouse and how to apply new painting techniques to your interior walls. What's best of all, if you do it yourself this spring, you'll save yourself a wheelbarrowful of money.

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.

"Investigate These" Display Puts McCall Smith Books Under the Magnifying Glass

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

In case you didn't know, HBO is premiering the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mystery series this Sunday based on the books by Alexander McCall Smith. Set in Botswana where McCall Smith taught at one time, these books feature the memorable character, Precious Ramotswe, a lady of ample proportions and clever wit, who is just looking for a good man as she solves her cases. The New York Times today has a nice article about the author, his stories and the upcoming television show.

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

Don't wait until then to acquaint yourself with the wonderful Mma Ramotswe or any of Alexander McCall Smith's other characters. Just stop by Bernardsville Public Library to see our latest display in the new books area featuring the library's collection of McCall Smith books and book CDs. Included among these are his Scotland Street and Sunday Philosophy Club series. Please investigate.

Staff Picks for Young Readers

Felicia Ballard, youth services staff member at Bernardsville Public Library, has been busy sampling a variety of children's fiction and recommends the following books for young readers and their families. Here are Felicia's comments:


The Green Dog by Suzanne Fisher Staples is a light read. It's the story of one girl's summer, her dog, and her family. It's also a book about growing up. The Green Dog would definitely make a good summer reading choice.






Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye tells the story of a young girl born and raised in the United States who moves to her father's homeland, Jerusalem, when she turns 13. Although there is a little bit of romance in the story, the book also provides great deal of insight into the Middle East conflict. The author has given Habibi a terrific teenage voice, and this is a book that is guaranteed to keep a young person interested.




I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry because it is one of my daughter's favorite books. Number the Stars is about the role that Denmark played in

World War II, including the smuggling of Jews across the sea to Sweden. Told through the eyes of a young Danish girl, this is a very moving book.




Newbury Award winning The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, was engrossing, although it did leave me wondering about a few of its twists and turns. Sequel maybe? I also heard that the book CD version of The Graveyard Book is excellent. It's read by the author, and while author-read books sometimes fall flat, this one seems to be a winner.
~Felicia Ballard

Reminder: Book Group Bags Are Available to Check Out at Bernardsville Library

photo source - Bernardsville Public Library

Gerry Van Tassel, readers' services staff member at Bernardsville Public Library, admires one of our customized book group bags shown above. These bags were made possible last year by a grant from Bernardsville patron, Jean Horton, who is a book group leader herself. Thanks to her gift, the library has been able to assemble a number of bags which are available for checkout to book group leaders. These bags may be borrowed for one month at a time.

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

Each sturdy canvas bag contains ten paperback copies of a popular book as well as a discussion folder to assist the group leader. Book reviews, discussion questions, and author biographies make these green folders required reading for any group leader.

photo source - Bernardsville Public Library

All the contents fit neatly into this attractive, canvas zip-up tote. The library will be adding more book group bags to our collection shortly. Currently we offer the following titles: The Book Thief, The Year of Magical Thinking, Shadow Divers, Three Cups of Tea, The Road From Coorain, Water for Elephants, and Nineteen Minutes.

Saturday Crafters Have A Great Time

Bernardsville Public Library extends an open invitation one Saturday afternoon each month for crafters to bring their projects and join others in a few hours of work and pleasant conversation.

Called the Saturday Crafters, this group will meet again on Saturday, April 18th, at 3 p.m. in the library's Community Room. If you like to do handcrafts, please join us at that time and bring your own project. Here are some photographs taken at the last meeting held Saturday, March 14th.



Our group size varies with the day, but including myself, there were seven happy crafters. What was so interesting to me was that each person brought a different craft.

Ann has started to do bargello needlepoint again after completing many such projects in the past. Her daughter tells her that bargello is back in style, so Ann has picked up her needle again.

Carol is busy stringing beaded bracelets, and Susie is designing and making her very own stationery.

Pat has started several needlepoint projects and keeps them both going almost at the same time. How does she do that?

Erin loves to knit and felt, but she is now bravely moving on to crochet as her next skill. One of the library books came to her rescue with good how-to illustrations. I was busy knitting a scarf for the Dulaan project, but failed to take a picture of myself...hee, hee.

Nancy works on the back side of her rughooking - a panel which her sister designed for her. Nancy has been hooking the wool panel for several years and is now stitching the edges to the back.

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

Here's the beautiful front side of her hooked masterpiece. She is one happy crafter!

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!

Doctor, Heal Thyself: An Addiction Memoir With A Happy Ending

Evelyn Fischel, staff member at Bernardsville Public Library, recently read this compelling nonfiction account of alcoholism and a promising drug treatment "cure." Here is her review:


Olivier Ameisen is a notable French cardiologist who practiced medicine and taught at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College. A talented pianist, Ameisen was urged by no less than Arthur Rubenstein to pursue music rather than medicine as his intended career. He was also the first and only student to pass the French baccalaureat without having finished his last two years of high schooling. In addition, President Jacques Chirac awarded him the Legion of Honor for his "contributions to the image of France abroad and to cardiology." But Olivier Ameisen is also an alcoholic whose disease brought him to deepest despair, ruined his practice, and almost killed him.

The End of My Addiction, published in January 2009, chronicles Dr. Olivier Ameisen's desperate attempts to save himself from a hopeless descent toward incapacitation and likely death due to his advanced alcoholism. Having severely injured himself repeatedly in drunken falls, Ameisen found himself admitted to city emergency rooms where he risked having his secret condition discovered by fellow doctors. Personal relationships suffered, and his successful career as a New York cardiologist came to an end when he decided that he could no longer practice. Although he checked himself into numerous rehabs and participated in recovery programs, none of these therapies worked for him.

Some colleagues turned away from him, wondering why he just couldn't stop; a few tagged him as a hopeless case; others gave him encouragement and support. One man in particular, his M.D. thesis advisor Phillipe Coumel, expressed compassionate understanding, saying to him, "As a physician, how can you be embarrassed about having a disease?" This good mentor also motivated Ameisen's scientific curiosity, stating, "I cannot believe that a man of your intelligence cannot find the solution." And Olivier Ameisen did find a solution that worked for him.

The End of My Addiction is a compelling story about the terrible struggles and discrimination facing individuals with an alcohol addiction. It is also a work of medical detection recounting the author's self-experimention with an older medication, baclofen, approved as a fairly harmless muscle relaxant, but found to quell the cravings of cocaine addicts in a University of Pennsylvania study. Ameisen learned about this small study and ran with it, medicating himself with higher and higher doses of the drug until he reached a level where his brain no longer responded to any typical triggers and thus no longer created the cravings which drive addicts deeper into their addictions. Baclofen had completely suppressed the symptoms of his alcoholism, and no serious side effects were experienced. Dr. Ameisen believes this drug deserves a large-scale study, but points out that baclofen is an off-patent product and fears that pharmaceutical companies will not be interested in this kind of study. He has written this book to encourage investment in such a study and has provided chapters on the science behind his experiments.

At the same time The End of My Addiction offers a vivid, but compassionate portrait of what it is like to be an alcoholic today. It was very moving to read about the author's struggles with this disease, and he clearly makes the point that "willpower" is not equivalent to medicine. If people with other diseases were asked to will away their conditions, we would say that was absurd. The author does support the 12 step programs for their helpful behavorial adaptations, and he believes that attention should be given to underlying depression and anxiety when treating patients. Ameisen makes us rethink our assumptions about alcoholism, and he has demonstrated that there may be real hope of a successful medical treatment for this addiction. ~ Evelyn Fischel

Irish Authors Featured in Our New Book Display

photo source: Bernardsville Public Library

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, lucky shamrocks ornament Bernardsville Public Library's new display featuring books by Irish authors. You'll find this display near the New Fiction area next to the circulation desk.

Be sure to browse through the wonderful assortment of Irish literature and modern fiction found there. To help make your selection, you may also consult our brand new Bernardsville Library bookmark devoted to Irish Writers. The bright green bookmark contains a list of Irish authors such as Edna O'Brien and Malachy McCourt. You'll find copies of the Irish Writers bookmark at the circulation desk and also tucked among the shamrocks in this display.