The Smartest Card in Your Wallet

September is Library Card Sign-up Month
A library card is easy to obtain and it's free! Stop by the library to obtain a card or to renew your old one. The registration process is quick and painless. If you're new to town, or have never had a library card, please be sure to bring some ID that shows you live in East Hampton. We issue cards to anyone of kindergarten age and up; a parent presents ID on their child's behalf. For teens, photo IDs (drivers licence or school ID) are great!

It's smooth sailing from here and you'll have free access to a wealth of local and statewide information services plus materials sure to inform, educate and entertain.

A "smart card" and a library "where smart growth begins"? Sounds like deal.

Wife Parade

Floats Not Included
Wives are a popular fiction topic and with late summer comes a new round of books about them. Here's a few quick read suggestions accompanied by quick plot notes:

Novel about My Wife by Emily Perkins (expatriate wife descends into madness)... American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (wife of U.S. president thrust into the spotlight as in Laura Bush?)... The Professors' Wives' Club by Joanne Rendell (proper wives, each with a scandalous secret).

Add these to your list of older fiction reads about a kitchen god's wife, a pilot's wife, a zookeeper's wife, Ahab's wife, a senator's wife and we'll have a parade!

Places We'd Like to Visit

Shannara
Fantasy great Terry Brooks recently delivered the third and final novel in the Genesis of Shannara trilogy. As expected the third book, The Gypsy Morph, is on more than one national best seller list.

What is special about all of Brooks’ Shannara books is he never “phones it in” and always expects us to remember what came before. Shannara fans will again find Brooks respects his readers and by doing so, we're treated to a stunning conclusion to a great series.

Our Crystal Ball Says...

We Have a Winner!
Hannah Tinti's debut novel, The Good Thief, promises to be one of fall's most sought after reads. The novel is original, smartly-plotted, darkly comic, and has much to say about the age-old battle between good and evil.

The Story in Brief
Twelve year-old Ren does not understand why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother; Ren is released into Benjamin's care. Adventures set in New England unfold from here with questions galore about Benjamin, Ren's past, and both of their futures.

The Good Thief is a thrilling read and a real-deal adventure novel for adults and teens alike.

Meggie's World

The Wait Will Soon Be Over

The highly anticipated release of Inkdeath, the conclusion to Cornelia Funke's engrossing Inkheart trilogy, is scheduled for October 7th. The first two books, Inkheart and Inkspell were filled with twists and turns and larger than life characters, set in a thrilling fantasy world.

Will Dustfinger be brought back to life? Will Meggie and Farid stay together? What will be the outcome of Resa's personal story? Will Orpheus and Violante become major players in the continuing saga? The author has been very tight-lipped about this long-awaited sequel. Guess we'll find the answers to these and other questions very, very soon...

Green Matters

Money and You
Financial planning titles indicate there are no hard and fast rules for implementing a financial plan. Each of these recent books on the subject, different in scope and perspective, demonstrate as much.

However, if there is a common recommendation in these and other similar titles available for checkout, it would be this: start planning and do it now.

Title covers shown:
The Busy Family's Guide to Money
Debt Cures
Expecting Money
Let's Get Real About Money
Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ
Killing Sacred Cows

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

"O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!" -- Hamlet

Mute from birth, Edgar Sawtelle grows up on a Wisconsin farm where his parents raise and train a fictional breed of what can only be described as mind-reading dogs.

Fast forward... Edgar's father unexpectedly dies; Edgar suspects his uncle was involved; Edgar sets out into the woods with three "Sawtelle" pups. Edgar's fate, and the fate of the Sawtelle dogs, is decided from here.

David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a glorious novel and an excellent choice for shared parent/teen reading and discussion. The 500+ page count should be no obstacle; you've together tackled Harry Potter and Stephenie Meyer's books with nary a whimper. Edgar's story may also invite your interest in the parallel story told in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet.

Thrills and Spills

Down-List Bestsellers, Too
The 19th Wife blends character-driven fiction (BeckyLyn and Jordan Scott) with the history of Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young. The book is an outstanding read --filled with well-drawn characters and a murder-suspense plot; both made great by David Ebershoff's tight writing.

Eric Van Lustbader's First Daughter is a good choice for fans of political thrillers. In short, ATF agent Jack McClure leads the search for the president elect's kidnapped daughter. The plot does skip the tracks in a few places but leaves little doubt as to why Lustbader has successfully taken over the late Robert Ludlum's "Bourne" franchise.

Decisions, Decisions...

How We Make Them and Why
Malcolm Gladwell's 2005-2006 bestseller, Blink, examined how we make snap judgements. In Freakonomics, a bestseller well into 2007, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner suggested if the economic incentives are good, we're highly likely to make questionable (a.k.a. dishonest, illegal or plain old bad) decisions.

Latest books on the topic include Ori and Rom Braffman's Sway and Rick Shenkman's Just How Stupid Are We? Sway examines how we're driven to make decisions when the factual evidence suggests we shouldn't. Shenkman's book makes its case on the dumbing down of American politics and how easily voters are misled by spin.

We recommend all of these genuinely thoughtful books to non-fiction readers but darn -- if you do read 'em all -- you may start dropping bread crumbs to find your way home...

Rules of the Road

Traffic Stories
Let's face it. Driving -- to work, to run daily errands, or to play -- can often be a tough nut to crack. We'd bet you all have stories to share about jams and inconveniences and what you do to compensate for the on-road behavior of others...

In Traffic, author Tom Vanderbilt examines why we drive the way we do and what it says about us as wheel commanders. The book is a rich and surprisingly enough, entertaining info-mix of social sciences, history, and road engineering.

If the book has any one important thing to say, it'd be this: we'd get further down the road, faster -- and we'd save fuel -- if we followed the signs and played/drove well with others.

Poet of the Month

August's Featured Poet
Richard Wilbur (1921-), born in New York City, sees poetry “as a means of organizing oneself and the world” which he took up as a result of the horrors of WWII. He uses meter and rhyme because in “complicating the writing-process” its “limitation makes for power: the strength of the genie comes of his being confined in a bottle.” He finds a kinship in French poets, whose work he has widely translated. He has won numerous awards for his translations and original work. He is a past poet Laureate of the U.S.

A Barred Owl

The warping night‑air having brought the boom
Of an owl's voice into her darkened room,
We tell the wakened child that all she heard
Was an odd question from a forest bird,
Asking of us, if rightly listened to,
"Who cooks for you?" and then "Who cooks for you?"

Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear,
Can also thus domesticate a fear,
And send a small child back to sleep at night
Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight
Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw
Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw.

Further Reading: Collected poems, 1943‑2004 / Richard Wilbur, 2004. The disappearing alphabet / Richard Wilbur ; illustrated by David Diaz, 1998. Things of this world : poems / Wilbur, Richard, [1956].

Coming in September: Lorna Dee Cervantes

Content developed by East Hampton resident and poet Leland Jamieson

2009 Nutmeg Book Award Intermediate Nominees

Decisions, Decisions: All of Them Yours!

The time to begin voting for your favorite 2009 Nutmeg Book in the Intermediate Category (grades 4-6) is already here. Though rumor has it there are strong local favorites among the crop of 10 nominees; there's still time to read and review nominees you might have missed.

Explore plot descriptions to help you choose yet another stellar Nutmeg nominee; check our online catalog for availability -- then Spice It Up a Notch on the Nutmeg's wicked "wiki" cool web page. Here you'll find easy online ways to say what you mean/mean what you say about which Nutmeg books mattered most to you...

Through Thin and Thinner

What Is 2-1-1?
2-1-1 is a free community service administered by the United Way of Connecticut. It is supported by the State of Connecticut and Connecticut United Ways. You can call 2-1-1 to obtain information, or to seek help in a crisis. The service is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Simply dial 2-1-1 or 1-800-203-1234 any time of day or night.

Call 2-1-1 or visit the 2-1-1 web page to learn about state/local resources available to you and your family. Local Human Services contacts are East Hampton Social Services and East Hampton Youth & Family Services.

Read Your Way to Olympic Gold Recap

Olympics Winding Down...
Your library's summer reading program, Read Your Way to Olympic Gold, is winding down and ends on Saturday, August 30th. Needless to say there is still time to pursue a BINGO and collect your summer reading incentive prize. What a great summer and thank you for sharing your time at the library!

Thanks to East Hampton Winding Up!
What deserves great mention is how our community's businesses and organizations so strongly support our annual efforts to promote reading as an everyday summer choice for the children in town. Support is nothing short of amazing so please be sure to thank our Summer 2008 reading program sponsors and partners any time, all the time:

American Distilling -- Angelico's Lake House Restaurant -- Belltown Learning Center -- Century 21 Realty -- Dunkin' Donuts -- East Hampton Lanes -- East Hampton Parks & Recreation -- East Hampton Public School District -- 80 Licks Ice Cream Cafe -- Friends of the East Hampton Public Library -- Kids of Chatham Organization -- Island Coffee Traders -- Main Street Pizza -- McDonalds -- Nichols Bus Service -- Subway -- Rossini's Italian Restaurant.

Secrets Told...

Questions Answered...
If you were inspired by The Secret you might also decide to continue refining your approach to The Answer that best works for you.

Inspiration is good! So is the success all of us have to work at achieving. What may be missing from both of these books is mention of actual work...

What do you think?

One Fish, Two Fish, Red State, Blue State

Books Either Way
“Political” books are all over the place these days and with fall elections not that far away, it seems as though everyone has something to say. In the recent crop of polemics...

Thomas Frank (What's the Matter With Kansas?) offers up his new book, The Wrecking Crew. Matt Taibbi is a Contributing Editor to Rolling Stone Magazine and regularly reports on American politics. Atlantic Monthly writers Douthat and Salam speak to a conservative domestic agenda.

Add in books by John Harwood, David Boren, Grover Norquist, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Scott McClellan... there sure is much to think about...

Click here for other more recent books about American politics and its history.

Secret Agents

Liz Carlyle's Wild Ride
To those of you who enjoy vintage John le Carré or Vince Flynn's novels about invincible secret agent, Mitch Rapp, we highly recommend the latest in the Liz Carlyle series by Stella Rimington.

In Illegal Action, British operative Liz Carlyle uncovers a plot to assassinate fictional character Nikita Brunovsky, a vocal opponent of real-life Vladimir Putin. As is the case with all great espionage thrillers, Liz battles against the clock to figure out who’s who, so as to avoid a full-scale international incident.

Stella Rimington’s writing is solid and as a 30-year veteran of MI5, she’s able to offer insight on Cold War spying vs. spying in the age of anti-terrorism. The novel’s short chapters also make this book a good choice for busy readers who still want the benefit of a thrilling, roller-coaster read.

They Write... We Read...

Celebrity biographies/autobiographies, tell-alls, exposés, and reverent or irreverent retrospectives show up every spring (so we will read them over the summer) and every holiday season (so we will give them as gifts). Some are enlightening, informative, or fun; others dish up the dirt. Either way, books in this genre move on and off the best seller lists and on and off our shelves. Here's a few titles that have seen a great deal of action over the course of our spring-into-summer library season.

Summer's not yet over... there is still time to dish...

Off the Beaten Track Surprises

Where to Eat During Your "Staycations"
We can't help but notice that many of you are "staycationing" this summer. Our museum passes, funded by the Friends of Library, are getting a very rigorous workout. Not to mention the CT State Park Pass, which is yet another great "freebie".

In the few weeks left before school starts, match your next staycation trip to a list of "colorful and inexpensive" CT restaurants, courtesy of the team at Roadfood.com.

Telecommuting?

We Can Help
With gas prices rising, telecommuting may seem like an attractive alternative. Even one day off the highway will save you some money and lower the stress of your next fill-up at the pumps.

If you are telecommuting, or trying it out to see if it works for you and your employer, the library can offer you comfortable facilities and wireless Internet access for your laptop (B or G wireless card required). If you need to teleconference, no problem! You may use your cell in either of our closed-door conference rooms, subject to availability.

The best news is when your much needed break rolls around, there sure is plenty to read and enjoy at the library -- not to mention some great food and shopping options -- all on Main Street!

Budget Hero Game

Here's Your Chance to Play What You Mean
What if you could decide how our federal tax dollars were spent? You can, if only in an imaginary way, by playing the interactive game, Budget Hero, recently launched by American Public Media.

The game allows you to set a federal budget based on your values. Play issue-related budget "cards" to levy or ease taxes. The game will deliver results -- as in how your choices might affect a budget 10 years from now.

With November election season not that far away, Budget Hero offers an interactive way to explore your take on national issues and to generate useful discussion.

Vampire Fiction

Tongue in Cheek... With Fangs
Anne Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, Christine Feehan, and Charlaine Harris are among the more famous vampire fiction storytellers. Darren Shan and Stephenie Meyer have recently dominated the vampire fiction market aimed at teens. Let's not leave out Dracula, the infamous 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, which has brought us more than a century's worth of the "Count" in books and on film.

Enter the fiction book Vampyres of Hollywood, a fictional story with one fundamental contention: everything we think we know about vampire myth, legend, and folklore was created in a Hollywood film studio!

The novel is very witty in places (who doesn't like a joke at Hollywood egos' expense?) but is also very gruesome in others. Certainly not for everyone but a sometimes entertaining addition to latest crop of vampire chic fiction.

Credit Crunch on Radar

Check Ups or Fix 'er Uppers
If the credit crunch is changing the way you are making family decisions -- or if you are looking for a way to improve your credit score in a tight lending market -- the library holds many recent consumer credit titles that may be helpful. The library also regularly adds titles about family investing and planning for retirement.

Consumer Credit Tips Worth Sharing
You may obtain a free credit report. However, if you want to obtain your credit score, you'll have to pay for it. The number between 300 and 850 identifies how lenders view you along the scale of not risky to risky borrower.

The three major credit bureau reporters are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These bureaus don't share information; correcting an error may require separately contacting each of three bureaus.

If you have a specific complaint against a company, individual or entity regulated by our state, you may contact the Connecticut Department of Banking.

Pet Stories

Dog Dreams
If you have ever hit a rough patch in life and loved your dog for loving you, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein may be a good fiction pick for you. Denny Swift, a hard-luck professional race car driver, endures tragedy but keeps on plugging. Enzo, Denny's dog, not only unfailingly roots for Denny but also dreams of his own, next life -- as a man. A love story and an entertaining one for sure.

Bird Dog
The Parrot Who Thought She Was a Dog is author Nancy Ellis-Bell's account of life with a one-footed blue and gold wild-caught/rescue macaw named Sarah. The book does get repetitive in places but darn if it isn't an engaging story about coping with a cranky bird who can and absolutely does "rule the roost". Sarah want a dog biscuit? She sure does...

Chef's Surprise

Ready, Set the Table, Go!
Recipes are a popular subject at the library. Whether it's outdoor grilling and entertaining, international flavor, dessert, or lifestyle recipes that delight your taste buds, we hope you'll find them here.

Please let us know if there is particular title or type/style of cookbook you'd like to see us add to our collection. We are always, always open and receptive to your suggestions.

Poet of the Month

July's Featured Poet
Rita Dove (1952-) was born in Akron, Ohio. She read passionately as a child, and she writes, “When I was young, I ran the day to its knees. There were trees to swing on, crickets for capture. I can remember the trees I climbed and the noisy crickets out my window at night.” She won the 1987 Pulitzer for Thomas and Beulah, a collection of poems about her grandparents. She was made Poet Laureate in 1994, and has won numerous awards. She writes of common experience — yet with mystery:

The Secret Garden

I was ill, lying on my bed of old papers,
when you came with white rabbits in your arms;
and the doves scattered upwards, flying to mothers,
and the snails sighed under their baggage of stone . . .

Now your tongue grows like celery between us;
Because of our love‑cries, cabbage darkens in its nest;
the cauliflower thinks of her pale, plump children
and turns greenish‑white in a light like the ocean's.

I was sick, fainting in the smell of teabags,
when you came with tomatoes, a good poetry.
I am being wooed. I am being conquered
by a cliff of limestone that leaves chalk on my breasts.

Further Reading: Selected Poems, by Rita Dove,1993; Pantheon Books.
The Darker Face of the Earth: a verse play in fourteen scenes, by Rita Dove,1994; Story Line Press, both in our library.

Coming in August: Richard Wilbur

Content developed by poet and local resident Leland Jamieson

A Glorious Celebration Indeed

Wheel of Good Fortune
Your library's staff once again had the great fortune and pleasure to participate in the Old Home Day Parade. The parade's 30th Anniversary theme was Hometown Holidays; Old Home Day was our holiday of choice.

We must admit it was very nice riding this year -- instead of pushing our book carts -- but we heard you loud and clear. If we had a nickle for each time one of you asked us "Where are the carts?" our fortune would still be great -- and spendable! Suffice it to say the carts will be back next summer with no nickles required.

Special thanks to Belltown Motors for donating their services (truck plus great driver); Val Greco and Greco Designs for up-sizing our logo and OHD signs, and Teri Pretash's Red Barn Studios for delivering logo-wonder tee-shirts. Leave no room for doubt: our local business community is extraordinarily generous, talented, and we're lucky to have them working in and for our community! Over-the-top thanks to Dan Kauczka for float construction.

Library staff pictured left to right:

Ian Dunbar, Phil Carr, Rae Strickland, Sue Berescik (Library Director), Kathleen Sands (Children's Services Librarian), youth volunteers Elizabeth Brittany and Kyle Coughlin. Not shown is Rachel Rival (other side of the wheel) and a favorite of 2 year-old children near and far.

Bestsellers

"The Shack"
William P. Young's The Shack has been topping religious bestseller lists but also trade paperback bestseller lists. With over 1.6 million copies in print, news has it a CD of "inspired by" music may be in the works as well as a screenplay.

If you enjoy point-of-view reads, try subject headings Christian fiction or Christian life. Stop by the library's main circulation desk if you need assistance finding the above titles or other titles that represent these and other points of view.

The library's music CD collection also represents a wide range of musical interests, including contemporary Christian Rock and gospel music recordings.

Making the Most of Your Drive Time

Gas Prices? Shocking! Audio Books? Ready for Checkout @ your library
Our Circ Desk staff says many of you report you are driving less, planning your trips more carefully, or making trips to places closer to home. Alas, work commutes are unavoidable and listening to audio books can be a great way to pass the time.

These and many more audio books in CD or MP3 (downloadable, e-audio) format are available for checkout or reserve and may be used for free, provided you have an East Hampton Public Library card. Our collections include adult fiction and non-fiction titles, titles for children, and recently introduced titles for young adults. You may also use our e-audio collection to learn any of over 70 foreign languages!

The better news is a library card is also free....

The Summer of Choice

Summer Reading, Middle School Style
The library and EHMS summer reading brochure offer you a variety of high-interest summer reading choices. If you're a series book lover, a romantic, a history buff, a sci-fi or fantasy book fan, or need a thriller to keep you turning the pages, we're here for you!

It's your summer of choice so read about what you like and we suspect you'll like what you read.

Twenty Questions

Could You Pass a Citizenship Test?
A couple of us library types are also civics fans -- as in civics rock! Sound boring? Not if you wanted to become a citizen of our country.

Link to a sample of the U.S. citizenship test and see how you do. With Independence Day just around the corner, it's a good time for a civics tune-up.

Our Very Own Home Town Holiday

Another Glorious Celebration It Shall Be!
The start of our town's annual Old Home Day Celebration is less than 10 days away and we sure are hoping you are expectant and jazzed. We sure are!

Take a spin through the Old Home Day Association's web site and learn about how you can participate in and enjoy three days of free musical entertainment, great cost-saving and freebie opportunities, PLUS the largest parade in Middlesex County!

Watch for the Old Home Day Association's 2-page informational ad in the July 3rd holiday edition of the Rivereast News Bulletin. Save some gas and plan your Home Town Holiday weekend, in your hometown.

Above logo designed by Red Barn Studios, East Hampton CT

Farmer's Cow Family-Owned Dairy Farms

Take a Deep Breath and Moooo!
While visiting the library, pick up a copy of the local calling card of The Farmer's Cow, a group of six Connecticut, family-owned dairy farms. The farms offer 'udderly' delicious products and their calling card also features a schedule of summer-through fall events sure to be fun/educational for the whole family!

Support Farmer's Cow and CT-based agriculture! All moooriffic farms are within reasonable driving distance from East Hampton: Coventry, Franklin, Hebron, Lebanon, Franklin, and Woodstock.

Summer Fun, Summer Crafts @ your library

Summer Craft Adventures
Read Your Way to Olympic Gold this summer but also take time out to explore your creative side! Summer craft programs are open to children entering grades 1-3 in fall 2008.

Tuesday, July 8th @ 2 p.m.
Let’s all celebrate the 4th of July with a homemade American flag, complete with bells to ring in the summer. After that, decorate your own summer journal to write all about your summer adventures! Register online or give us a call at 267-6621.

Farmer's Markets In Our Area

New Brochure from the CT Department of Agriculture
While visiting the library, pick up a copy of the Connecticut Farmer's Market 2008 brochure published by the CT Department of Agriculture. The brochure features information about well over 100 farmer's markets operating statewide from June through October 2008. Almost all of the markets listed in the brochure are WIC Certified; several are EBT Food Stamp Certified.

Here's a listing of farmer's markets operating in Middlesex County:
Clinton, Chamard Vineyards Farmer's Market
Deep River Farmer's Market
Durham Farmer's Market
Essex Farmer's Market
Middletown Farmer's Market

For the online crowd, you may also download the Farmer's Market brochure as well as many other useful publications by visiting the CT DOA's web site.

EHHS Summer Reading Made Easy

Summer Reading Central
The EHHS summer reading lists were recently released. One list is for 9th and 10th grade; the other for 11th & 12th.

You will find books included on the EHHS lists centrally located on center island in the middle of the library's main reading room. The library has multiple copies of each book included on each list.

For quick online browsing, click here for 9th and 10th grade selections or here for 11th and 12th grade selections. Based on your demand for listed titles, we'll add copies so speak up on the listed titles that interest you!

We'll also be here all summer long to recommend other titles. Though you're only required to read two books, we're sure we can match you up with many other great books you'll love, that will make you laugh and think, and which will make your summer all the more enjoyable!

Child Meets World

Resources for Parents
The library regularly and actively purchases books of interest to parents with children at different stages of development. A few of the latest additions to our collection are shown above.

Parenting books cover a broad spectrum of issues and approaches: maternity and birth, "boot camp" or how to, medical, educational -- all related to the long-term and healthy growth of your child. If you don't quickly find what you are looking for, please ask us -- that's why we're here.

For the web-savvy crowd, we also recommend free access to highly credible online resources found at ICONN, our state's online information portal. ICONN features access to health and wellness resources, Medline, CT Physician Profiles, CT Consumer Health information, and much, much more!

Poet of the Month

June's Featured Poet

William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) holds the distinction of probably having the greatest single influence on poets writing in the U.S., attracting a greater following than Yeats or Eliot in the latter half of the 20th Century. He was a close and accurate observer of real life who tried to make language new, disregarding rhyme and meter. A full-time practicing physician who had his feet on the ground, he often wrote of patients, and of flowers and paintings which he loved. Here’s an example of the latter:

The Dance
In Brueghel's great picture, The Kermess,
the dancers go round, they go round and
around, the squeal and the blare and the
tweedle of bagpipes, a bugle and fiddles
tipping their bellies (round as the thick‑
sided glasses whose wash they impound)
their hips and their bellies off balance
to turn them. Kicking and rolling about
the Fair Grounds, swinging their butts, those
shanks must be sound to bear up under such
rollicking measures, prance as they dance
in Brueghel's great picture, The Kermess.

Above: The Kermess by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

Further Reading: Selected Poems, by William Carlos Williams ; edited with an introduction by Charles Tomlinson, 1985, available at our library. The Collected Stories of William Carlos Williams ; introduction by Sherwin B. Nuland, 1996, is also available at our library.

Coming in July: Rita Dove

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson.

Booming Books

Feeling Old, Feeling New, Books to Borrow, All About You!
Those of us in the baby boom generation haven't found it easy to ignore the plethora of new books aimed at helping us feel and look younger. We don't know about you but the publishing world's opinion of us does give us pause....

This being said, however, there certainly is something for everyone looking for choices to help make our mid-life selves happier, healthier and better looking inside and out. Here's a sampling of new books on the subject.

Hostess with the Mostest

Stephenie Meyer Tackles the Adult Sci-Fi Market
Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga vampire series books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse) were all very difficult to put down. The fourth and final book in the series, Breaking Dawn, is sure to be another runaway bestseller and is due out on August 2nd. Twilight, the movie, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson is also due out December 12th.

While you are waiting for the Twilight Saga's last chapter to morph into summer reader madness, try Meyer's new adult sci-fi book, The Host. The plot centers on a fairly typical sci-fi book theme: alien society takes over humankind. Yet Meyer folds in rip-roaring adventure story and (sigh) just the right amount of romance.

The Host is nothing short of another great book from the Hartford-born(!) Meyer. Enjoy.

Fill 'er Up?

Latest Fuel Economy News from the U.S. EPA
Our Consumer Reports print magazine collection -- as well as the online version available through our statewide ICONN online services portal -- have certainly been getting a workout of late. Automobile comparisons seem to be much on your minds.

We recommend another consumer tool offered by the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection. The EPA web site features a Green Vehicle Guide which may help you get a handle on how well a vehicle performs in our age of rising gas prices. Fill in and submit the form, which will deliver information about fuel economy and emissions.

A Familiar Face on TV News Shows

A National Bestseller
Fareed Zacharia's The Post-American World recently hit the New York Times Non-fiction Bestseller List. The book gives the author's take on a post 9/11 world, the rise of other nations in a global economy, and an offers an optimistic look at where our country stands in the changing international landscape.

About the Author
Zacharia has appeared as a panelist on Sunday news shows and from 2005-2007, hosted a weekly international affairs show on PBS. He now hosts a program on CNN and is an international news editor for Newsweek Magazine. Check out a clip of Charlie Rose interviewing the author or a sound clip of the author's chat with Robert Seigel on All Things Considered.

Revival Movement

East Hampton Writers Take Note!
In the late 1990's the library sponsored and published 'East Hampton Voices', a local literary magazine. We sustained our publishing effort for several years and not without recognition in the Hartford Courant and Middletown Press.

Simply put, we plan to revive our earlier efforts by launching a new magazine -- entitled '898'-- a pointer to 1898, the year our library was founded.

Click Your Pen, Use Your Pad, Move Your Mouse!
Throughout late spring and summer 2008, we'll be asking local writers to contribute their short prose or poetry for publication in our September issue of 898. Watch for ways to contribute your writings using info on this blog; posts on our My Space page; flyers posted at the library and info included in weekly library news reported in the Rivereast.

How Green is Our Valley?

Only You Can Say...
Owing to a grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation and the efforts of the Connecticut Library Consortium, 17 Middlesex County libraries will collaborate to host a series of 'green' programs this year. Your local library, the EHPL, is one of the 17.

If you would, please take a minute or two to participate in the survey, shown right, and let all of us know about your green programming interests.

Poet of the Month

May's Featured Poet
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco and lived there until 11, moving east to Massachusetts and then New Hampshire, the state where his father was born. He carefully cultivated his image as a farmer. A canny marketer, he got his first book published and reviewed in England, and afterward in the U.S., making him an instant poet on two continents. His personal life was dark (he sacrificed all relationships to his career) as are many of his poems, though these are not widely read. Here’s one:

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Further Reading: Frost, Robert, Collected Poems of Robert Frost, 1874‑1963 (1986) and seven other volumes in our library.

Coming in June: William Carlos Williams

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson

Town Budget Vote: Tuesday May 6th

Voting Matters
Many of you have spent more than a few moments examining town budget documents located at our main circulation desk. Thanks for your thanks on making budget information, in paper form, available for browsing.

Cast your vote on the budget tomorrow, May 6th. Polling place is located at the East Hampton High School. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If your are reading this post, you may link to the town budget, last updated on April 23, 2008.