Old Secrets, Buried Treasure, Mystical Pirates... Oh, My!

Meet Misty Gordon
Kim Kennedy's book, Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates, has all the best elements of a fun read: a hint of mythology, a teaspoon of mystery, a dollop of history, a smidgen of scary, and a pinch of science fiction!

The novel follows Misty as she gets caught up in a puzzle plot while assisting her father, an estate and antiques dealer. In the truckload of things, Misty stumbles upon a pair of extraordinary glasses and a special diary which help her solve a mystery that will keep you guessing and rooting for Misty to save the day! A sequel seems in order...

Pair this book with some related non-fiction titles:

Greek Mythology
The Adventures of Hercules by I.M. Richardson
Adventures of Greek Heroes by Mollie McClean
Greek Myths by Jacqueline Morley, among others

Pirates
Pirates by Rachael Hanel
Pirateology by Ian Andrew
Pirates and Treasure by Saviour Pirotta
Pirates by Will and Mary Pope Osborne

Post by Kathleen Sands

Village LIONS Belltown Winter Wonderland Fundraiser

A Beautiful Sight
Thanks to the East Hampton Village Lions Club, our main reading room is adorned with a spectacular assortment of holiday decorations created and donated by local residents, organizations, and businesses. The collection includes about 30 eye-catching wonders; e.g., wreaths, table-top trees, door-hangers, photographs, and other unique holiday craft items.

Silent Auction
All items will be on display through Saturday, December 4. Browse the collection, place your bids, then mark your calendars and join the Village Lions in the library Community Room on Sunday, December 5 for a gala reception and auction results. Details to follow.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors
This inventive Belltown Winter Wonderland Fundraiser celebrates our community's creative spirit. It also offers an easy way to spend your dollars locally, with assurance that your dollars will stay in our community. All funds raised from the auction will go to the East Hampton Fuel Bank.

Amy and David

Sedaris, That Is...
Depending on how your funny bone works, here's the lastest from Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris.

Unconventional hostess, Amy Sedaris, offers Simple Times : Crafts for Poor People, after I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (2006).

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk : a Modest Bestiary is the latest by David Sedaris. Click for other print and audio book format titles, also by same author.

The Skinny On...

Quicky Advice in an Internet Age

Jim Randel, a 25-year real estate entrepreneur, moved into the publishing world in 2009. Since then, he has released 10 books (his publishing company is based in Westport, CT) and all of them share a lead-in title : "The Skinny On..."

Randel's titles are of the self-help variety and the advice given/stories told are conveyed using short prose and stick people drawings. Your library owns four titles in "The Skinny On" series, all of which have caught their fair share of buzz, both decidedly very pro and very con.

Randel was recently interviewed on WTNH's Good Morning CT program and offered very interesting commentary about how people read.

"The Ugly Truth" @ Fribrary Time

"Wimpy Kid" Party at the Library

A Fribrary Time special edition was held on Tuesday, November 9. We celebrated the release of The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney and the celebration was anything but ugly! We all had fun welcoming the latest installment of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by playing trivia and word games, character guessing games, and of course, our version of the infamous Cheese Touch game. (Nooooooo!)

If you haven't started the series or haven't yet read your way to book five, here's a list of the titles in order:

(1) Diary of a Wimpy Kid (book and book to film)

(2) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

(3) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

(4) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

You can also Wimp Yourself online...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans might also enjoy:

Dear Max by Sally Grindley
Big Nate by Lincoln Peirce
The Adventures of Ook and Gluk by George Beard
Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer Holm

About Fribrary Time

If you missed this event, try another in our series of Fribrary programs (after school on Fridays) open to 4th and 5th graders. Registration for 2011 programs (January-June) begins next month. We hope to see you there!

Post by Kathleen Sands

Non-Fiction Page Turners

Mix and Match

Recently added titles include memoirs, 'sciencey' specials, exposés, history reads, and a spiritual title or two.

Decision Points by George W. Bush

In this long-awaited memoir, our former president offers a candid journey through the defining decisions of his life and presidency. Expect must-read, bestseller status tout suite.

Chasing the Sun : the Epic Story of the Star That Gives Us Life by Richard Cohen
The author, formerly a publisher, takes us around the world to illuminate our cultural relationship with the sun. Click here for an overview of the book by NPR's Science Correspondent, Robert Krulwich.

Matt Taibbi's Griftopia serves up no-holds-barred explanations of what led up to 2008's financial crisis and the bubbles that came before. Taibbi is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone.

C Street by Jeff Sharlet (see also 2008's The Family) explores life in the 'C Street House,' a Washington, D.C., Christian fellowship home shared by a number of conservative politicians.

In The Difficulty of Being Good Gurcharan Das asks and answers the questions 'Why and how should we be good?' within the framework of a 2,000 year-old Sanskrit epic, Mahabharata, which includes the better-known Bhagavad Gita.

Former CIGNA PR specialist, Wendell Potter, offers an insider perspective on the American health care system in Deadly Spin. Also try 2009's broader title, The Healing of America, by T.R. Reid.

UFO's often go together with conspiracy theories. Try Leslie Kean's UFO title or Flying Saucers & Science by Stanton T. Friedman.

Civil War
April 12, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War. As we approach the Sesquicentennial Commemoration, we recommend two new titles about the North-South conflict's pre-history and a unique title about Civil War spies.

Driven West : Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears to the Civil War by A.J. Langguth
Manifest Destinies : America's Westward Expansion and the Road to the Civil War by Steven E. Woodworth
Stealing Secrets : How a Few Daring Women Changed the Fate of the Civil War by H. Donald Winkler. Pair this one with 2002's They Fought Like Demons by DeAnne Blanton & Lauren M. Cook.

Back to the Land

Back to Nature Potpourri

If you are interested in how others have approached homesteading as a contemporary choice, try Novella Carpenter's Farm City (urban Oakland CA), Living on an Acre (a 1978 USDA handbook updated and edited by Chester, CT's Christine Woodside), or Manny Howard's mainly memoir, My Dirt Empire (Brooklyn, NY). As a trio, these books offer a range of viewpoints about what it takes to grow or raise your groceries.

On the wild food cookbook front, Connie Green's The Wild Table adds to recent title list of books about edible wild plants.

Though the title choice is provocative, James Wong, an ethnobotanist, weighs in by describing natural remedies for a number of everyday ailments. The book is based on a BBC show of same name and received mention by NPR's All Things Considered. Add this one to a recent list of alt-med titles.

Settled in the Wild by Susan Hand Shetterly explores Maine's natural history. If you have Maine state interest, roots -- or are just looking for wonderful reads -- please do explore 1940-1950 vintage gem titles by Louise Dickinson Rich. For Connecticut natural history buffs and day trippers, try The Road to Discovery Guides.

Veterans Day : Honoring All Who Served

November 11
Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day. November 11 was at first a marker date in history : a World War I armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918. Click here to read more about the early origins and later history of Veterans Day.

Library of Congress : Veterans History Project
Veterans Day is so much more than a day off from school or work. If you are on the 'net' on November 11 or before, we encourage you to take time to visit the Library of Congress online.

The LOC's Veterans History Project "makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war." Visit the Experiencing War page to access first-hand accounts from those who served.

In Observance
The library will be closed to the public on Thursday, November 11 in observance of Veterans Day. We'll be adding info about local and regional Veterans Day events shortly.

Who's Who?

Biographical Reads You Might Enjoy

Memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies always pepper the many reading lists you (and we) consult when looking for an up close and personal read. Here are but a few of the latest you might like to add to your reading list.

Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice

This (less about politics) memoir by our former Secretary of State has caught major buzz in magazines and on the TV talk show circuit. Add this one to must-read bestsellers by the "formers" : Tony Blair (former British Prime Minister), Nelson Mandela (South African statesman and former political prisoner), and Jimmy Carter (former President).

Composed by Rosanne Cash

Firstborn daugther to country music legend Johnny Cash tells her story straight up. On the tune side, we highly recommend Rosanne's 2009 tribute title The List.

Other recent titles by or about contemporary musicians : Dave Mustaine, Johnny Winter, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Patti Smith. Smith's book is a 2010 National Book Award finalist, in the non-fiction category.

Washington by Ron Chernow & First Family by Joseph J. Ellis

For Founding Fathers and their families fans, try the above. Catch companion stories about the former and latter titles on NPR.

Growing Up Laughing by Marlo Thomas

A fun read from the star of the 1960s TV show That Girl, or creator of Free to Be... You and Me, or fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Other celebrity reads (several fairly weighty, some light as air) John Ritter, Sal Mineo, Liz & Dick, and Warren, among others.

Operation Dark Heart by Anthony Shaffer

Shaffer delivers an exciting, eyewitness account of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan using the military's most cutting-edge espionage tactics. Pair this one with T. H. Bagley's excellent Spy Wars (2007) or Larry Devlin's Chief of Station, Congo (2007).

Original Gangster by Frank Lucas
The above is all about the Harlem crime boss whose life inspired the 2007 film American Gangster. For another true crime fix, try Douglas Starr's The Killer of Little Shepherds about French serial killer Joseph Vacher and early criminologist Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne.

Grant Wood by R. Tripp Evans

In this major new biography of America's most acclaimed, and misunderstood, regionalist painter, Grant Wood, who painted American Gothic, is revealed to have been anything but plain, or simple.

The Last Boy by Jane Leavy
Drawing on more than five hundred interviews with loved ones and fellow baseball players, the author crafts a deeply personal biography of Mickey Mantle, weaving her own memories of the major league slugger with an authoritative account of his life on and off the field.

Click here for a selection of other recent books about baseball and its players.