In The News

One World Many Stories : Machu Picchu
By the end of 2012, Yale University plans to send thousands of artifacts excavated from Machu Picchu nearly a century ago back to Peru.  If you would like to learn more about this 15th century Inca Empire city, here's a few reading, viewing, and surfing suggestions.

Books and Reading
Try the classic title Lost City of the Incas by explorer Hiram Bingham III (1875-1956).

In Turn Right at Machu Picchu : Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time, adventure travel writer Mark Adams tries to retrace Bingham's steps.  The book is set for release on June 30.

For kids, try Machu Picchu by Elizabeth Mann, The Inca Empire by Jane Bingham, or National Geographic Investigates the Inca by Beth Gruber.

Travel Videos
Armchair travelers might also enjoy Destination Peru or 14 Wonders of the World Ancient and New, both of which include segments on Machu Picchu.

Surf's Up
UNESCO : Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu
Encyclopedia Britannica; log in with your East Hampton card number to find info, photos, and links to reputable web sites about Machu Picchu.

If you don't have a local library card, we can share this Britannica Online article with you, though advertising and promotions may appear.  Grab your spyware; here's Machu Picchu with blinking lights...

This and That : Non-Fiction Summer Reads

New and Different

Here's a quick list of summer reading suggestions for non-fiction readers.  The list includes memoirs, true crime and history flavored titles, a few of which relate to topics recently discussed "in the news".

Connecticut author Jeff Benedict (Without Reservation, Little Pink House) writes about 1993's E. Coli outbreak in the U.S. in his latest title, Poisoned.  A topical food safety read given the recent E. Coli outbreak in Europe.

In The Statues That Walked, two anthropologists explore the history of gigantic statues located on a remote island in the Pacific, discovered in 1722 and later described in Captain Cook's journals.  Pair this read with a travel video and  Aku-Aku, a classic book by Thor Heyerdahl of Kon-Tiki expedition fame.

"Try to imagine Thoreau married, with a job, three kids, and a minivan" and with high-tech gadgets.  If you can imagine this, try Tom Montgomery Fate's Cabin Fever : A Suburban Father's Search for the Wild. This one might also provide a perfect reason to read (or re-read) Walden. 

True-crime fans looking for backstory on Kill the Irishman, a June DVD release about 1970's Cleveland racketeer Danny Greene, might also try the book by Rick Porrello.  Brings to mind the recently captured Whitey Bulger and The Departed...   

In Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of  Men, Beijing-based Science correspondent Mara Hvistendahl explores the growing gap in the ratio between boys and girls and its consequences.  Read a review published in Bloomberg or listen to an author interview courtesy of NPR.

Sarah Sentilles, raised Catholic and later, a former candidate for the Episcopalian priesthood, offers her spiritual memoir, Breaking Up With God : A Love Story.  Pair this one with Dating Jesus by Hartford Courant columnist Susan Campbell.

U.S. Marine and Iraq veteran, Jess Goodell, recounts her tour as member of Mortuary Attachment platoon in Shade It Black : Death and After in Iraq.

The Murder of the Century : The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars by Paul Collins takes place in the late 1800's but offers an all too familiar account of our taste for sensational headlines, the more lurid the better.

Summer Travel

Family Travel
If you are looking to get away this summer but not travel too far from home, check out the library's travel book collection.  We've recently added up-to-date titles about New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South Atlantic states.

Click here for a quick list of titles slated to arrive this week. 

The Library's Museum Pass Program

Save Some Cash This Summer
Use our museum pass program this summer to visit premiere attractions that are less than a ga$ tank away.  Each pass offers discounted or in some cases free admission to great places including art museums, aquariums, state parks, children's venues and more.  Pass conditions vary; click here for a list of current pass offerings.

How to Reserve a Pass
Passes may be reserved up to 24 hours in advance of the day you plan to use or checkout the pass.  Passes circulate for 2 days and may not be renewed.  One pass at a time per family.

Thank the Friends of the Library
For more than a decade, our museum pass program has been funded by the Friends of the East Hampton Library.

If you would like to help support the pass program, join the Friends.  Membership costs as little as $5 or less than what you save when you use a pass!

The "Eyes" Have It

My Cooking Class
If cookbook recipes sometimes seem vague or not as instructive as you'd like them to be, you might try any in the My Cooking Class series.  Each book in the series lays out recipes visually, with color photographs of both the ingredients and the techniques you need to assemble and prepare a particular dish.

Books in the series include Pasta Basics, Steaming Basics, Vegetable Basics, Chocolate Basics, and Sauce Basics.  The books will be fun for cooks who enjoy visual, how-to support and may be particularly useful to beginner cooks or those who prefer uncomplicated recipes that still pack a punch.

Summer Reading 2011 : Hey Kids, Read What You Like!

Making a List : More Summer Reading Choices

Are you looking for great suggestions for vacation reading or books to bring to (or check out at) camp? Here's a few lists that are ideal for the season.  The books included on each list also tie nicely to our summer reading program theme, One World, Many Stories!

Clickable Lists
Click on the grade grouping to retrieve a list of suggested titles.  Titles within each grouping accommodate many different reading interests, levels, and skills.

Grades K-2  -- Grades 3 & 4 -- Grades 5 & 6 -- Grades 7 & 8 -- Grades 9-12

Click on any title in any list and read a summary of the book, book reviews, author profiles, and more.

About the Lists
The lists were compiled by Linda Williams, Connecticut State Library, for the Connecticut State Department of Education. Each title listed was selected, between 2001 and 2011, as an exemplary book by the American Library Association (ALA) and at least one professional education association. Education associations include: the International Reading Association (IRA), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the National Science Teachers Assocation (NSTA).

Summer Reading Central

Summer Reading List Titles Ready to Go...
Though summer reading season @ your library officially begins on Saturday, June 18, you might like to plan ahead and checkout any of the "must read one" titles featured on East Hampton High School's official summer reading list.

For grades 9-10 titles, click here.  For grade 11-12 titles, click here.

After "must read one", keep an eye out for many other recommended summer reading title lists as we count down to June 18. Tick-tock... 

Current Affairs

Bestsellers and Then Some...

Here's a few among the latest crop of books offering analysis and review of American and international affairs : financial, political, and in between.  Pick and choose.

TV pundit and Newsweek editor, Fareed Zakaria, updates his 2008 international bestseller with a '2.0' edition, released last week.

High on national and local reading lists is Wizard of Lies : Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust by Diana B. Henriques.  The author tells the 'inside' story of Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Jonathan Kay's Among the Truthers takes a look at conspiracy theories, from both the left and right perspective.  The author profiles 'ten brands of modern conspiracists' and their impact on public discourse.

In Reckless Endangerment, Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT business journalist Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner, a financial and policy analyst, trace the origins and dissect the aftermath of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.  Whodunit?

Former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, offers On China, an analysis of the country's place on the international stage from the Korean War to the present.  Heavy stuff but touted as essential reading for anyone interested in international relations.

Money and Power by William D. Cohan (House of Cards) adds to the list of recent books about a dominant and controversial investment bank, Goldman Sachs.

Summer Reading... and Your Child's Future

The Connecticut Higher Education Trust* , Connecticut State Treasurer’s Office, TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc., and the Connecticut State Library sponsor the “Destination College Savings” Promotion.

Check Out CHET!*
When to enroll your child in the library's summer reading program (begins June 18) you can also enter a drawing with chance to win one of four $1,000 direct sold 529 accounts.  Pick up a informational flyer with postage-paid entry form at library; entries must be postmarked by August 19, 2011.

Surf's Up
Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 529 College Savings Program
Official Rules for the Promotion