Gangsters, Guerillas, Soldiers, Spies... And Then Some

Mix and Match Your Thrilling Reads

We here recommend some adult fiction reads by local favorites and by authors you may have missed along the way.

The Mullah's Storm by Thomas W. Young

Young's debut novel opens with a transport plane carrying a Taliban prisoner and a radical mullah being forced down in Hindu Kush of Afghanistan. The book's ending definitely spells sequel.

American Assassin by Vince Flynn

Flynn delivers a prequel to his Mitch Rapp novels and (finally!) explains in depth why Rapp became a CIA operative. Recurring characters galore for fans of the author's Rapp-Kennedy-Stansfield novels.

The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

Irish writer Neville's thriller debut tells the story of a former IRA operative haunted by the ghosts of the people he's killed. Complex characters and back-story; expect a sequel.

Warlord by Ted Bell
This sixth in the series of well-written and plotted Alex Hawke thrillers.

Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carre

A Russian mafia/spy thriller from the much admired author who gave us George Smiley.

The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury
This fast-paced sequel to The Last Templar will interest fans of religious thrillers by Dan Brown, Steve Berry, Katherine Neville and Umberto Eco, among others.

Zero History by William Gibson

If you're thinking denim can't possibly be the focus of a semi-spy, semi-sci-fi thriller, think again. Gibson, who is known as the "patron saint of cyberpunk lit," again speculates about technology's effects much as he did in his once futuristic now classic novel, Neuromancer.

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Follett's known for spy thrillers and more recently, historical fiction. This first book in the author's Century Trilogy is historical and follows five families from the outbreak of WWI to the early 1920s. Pair this one with the author's similarly structured books, Pillars of the Earth and it's sequel, World Without End.

Dexter Is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

Who knew we could root for a serial killer? Next in the series after Dexter by Design. Dexter's on cable if you are a Showtime subscriber.

Don't Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

It's difficult to keep up with a guy who seems to release a new book every couple of months but most local buzz says this one (murder and the mob) is more like the Patterson books of yore.

Gluten-Free

October is National Celiac Disease Awareness Month
Celiac disease, a complex condition, is called an allergy by some and an autoimmune disorder by others. What is certain is that when people with Celiac disease eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, oats, rye and barley, events in the small intestine cause damage to the lining of this organ. In many cases, it is an inherited disease and therefore runs in families.

One way to deal with the condition is to adhere to a strict gluten free diet. The prospect of this for some is overwhelming, especially in the beginning. However, Celiac disease awareness has grown considerably in the last decade or so and that has thankfully lead to many a cookbook, website, and restaurant offering delicious and healthy options for those living with the disease.

Here's a short list of library-owned cookbooks about gluten-free eating:

Cooking with Coconut Flour by Bruce Fife
The G-free Diet by Elisabeth HasselbeckCooking Well: Wheat Allergies by Maire-Annick Courtier
BabyCakes : Vegan, Gluten-free, and (Mostly) Sugar-free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-about Bakery by Erin McKenna
The Gluten-free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam
Cooking Free: 200 Flavorful Recipes for People with Food Allergies and Multiple Food Sensitivities by Carol Fenster
Make it Fast, Cook It Slow : the Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking by Stephanie O'Dea

Surf's Up
Celiac Sprue Association
Celiac Disease Foundation
National Institute of Health

Post by Kathleen Sands

Similar But Not the Same

No Holds Barred Fiction

If you're a fan of Lisbeth Salender and have read your way through Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, you may want to try John Burdett's Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep novels. The two series share many of the same components: murder and mystery, criminal and spiritual journeys, sex, tattoos, men who hate women, conspiracies, international setting.

You will find red-light Bangkok hotter than Stockholm, though with a little sideways humor for breathing room. Author Burdett was a long-time resident of Bangkok, the city about which he writes.

Read and listen to more about series courtesy of NPR.

Post by Phil Carr

The Coffee Table Books Strike Back

"The Making of Star Wars"

Fans of the always popular films will find much to love about two indispensable books that celebrate the Star Wars film franchise.

Pair The Making of Star Wars (2007) with new release The Making of Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back (2010). Both books feature information from the Lucasfilm Archives, including never-before-seen photos taken during production, concept artwork, character data, plus glorious inside information about the challenges of shooting each film's most memorable scenes.

Check out the publisher's trailer for the second book, due for release on October 12. The book celebrates the 30th anniversary of what is arguably the best of the Star Wars film series.

Facebook Goes Big Screen

"The Social Network"
If you plan on buying a ticket to see the above titled film, you might want to check out a couple of books that relate to this big screen tale about how Mark Zuckerberg started an empire in his Harvard dorm room.

Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaries is said to have provided a pinch of inspiration for the film, written by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) and directed by David Fincher (Fight Club). Watch for Rooney Mara's performance as Zuckerberg's girlfriend. You'll be seeing her again as Lisbeth Salander in Fincher's upcoming remake of the Swedish original, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

David Kirkpatrick, a former senior editor for Fortune Magazine, offers up The Facebook Effect. No gossipy overlay here; just an interesting and useful business book about Facebook's role in the lives of over 500 million active users.

What's Cooking?

Standout Selections
Whether you love to cook or more simply, cook to eat, here's a sample of latest cookbooks from our shelves to your kitchen. Most of the books are lavishly illustrated (one comically) and forward two themes: keep it simple and eat healthy. More than one selection may be useful to cooks interested in the sustainable food movement.

In The Ultimate Slow Cooker Book, the experts at Better Homes Gardens share easy, creative ideas for main courses, appetizers, side dishes, desserts, breakfast, and hot beverages.

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary, The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken is a treat. Much has changed since 1960 but Bracken's wit remains. Read a review of the cookbook, courtesy of the New York Times.

Michalene Busico, former New York and Los Angeles Times food editor, offers up Knack Gourmet Cooking on a Budget. Eat well at a lower cost without sacrificing taste.

Earthbound Cook by Myra Goodman shows how consumers can make selections which not only taste good, but in addition, help the planet. In 1984, Goodman and her husband started Earthbound Farm, now the largest producer of organic food in the United States.

Susan Hermann Loomis' Nuts in the Kitchen provides more than 100 diverse recipes for everyday or special occasions. Great book for vegetarians or vegans but don't rule it out if you love your burgers.

Cookbook author Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything) adds The Food Matters Cookbook, a companion to his 2008 title of roughly the same name. You may want to pair Bittman's books with similarly themed titles by Michael Pollan.

Robin Robertson's Party Vegan delivers fun recipes for festive occasions plus tips on how to plan and shop for that special party.

Post by Bev Simmons

Banned Books Week : September 25 - October 2, 2010

Celebrate Your Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week has been observed since 1982; this annual event reminds Americans not to take their freedom to read for granted.

Stick up for your freedom to read this week and read a banned book. Our good guess is many of you have already read more than a few...

Surf's Up

Peruse a listing of the Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books: 2000-2009 or view of a map of Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2010.

Banned Books Week in the News

Christian Science Monitor
The New Statesman (A British Current Affairs and Political Magazine)

New York Times Learning Network

NPR Replay

Left, Right, Left, Right

Hot Political Reads

Politics is always a dicey subject but a popular pursuit for sure. Here's a short list of latest notable books about the national political scene and the people who serve at the top of the pyramid.

Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward

Crimes Against Liberty by David Limbaugh (son of Rush)

Pinheads and Patriots by Bill O'Reilly

The Obama Diaries by Laura Ingraham

The Promise by Jonathan Alter

The Bridge by David Remnick

Don't Vote : It Just Encourages the Bastards by P.J. O'Rourke

Are You Ready for Some Footbaaaaaaall?!

With a Little Learning on the Side...
Football season is officially here!

If you're a fan, stay in the zone and check out nicely done educational videos created by the National Science Foundation, NBC Learn, and the NFL. The series, entitled The Science of NFL Football, will add a new video each week through October 29th. Each mini-learning sesson focuses on an issue in the sciences, such as nutrition, physics, math, etc. and how it relates to the game. Click here to join the fun.

Also check out biographies of your favorite stars or stories with a football theme. A few of our favorite books for the younger set are listed below as well as a few favorite films:

Books and Reading
Tom Brady by Calvin Miller
Peyton Manning by Joanne Mattern
Tee Dee the Football by Michael Serrian
75 Seasons : The Complete History of the National Football League by Will McDonough
Gym Candy and Payback Time by Carl Deuker
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Crackback by John Coy

Fire Up the DVD Player
Big Fan
The Blind Side
Brian's Song
Remember the Titans
Friday Night Lights
We Are Marshall

Almost all of the above films are based on books or have documentary film tie-ins available for checkout. Watch for more football-related posts as the season unfolds.

Post by Kathleen Sands

Introducing JobNow™ by Brainfuse™

The Latest Addition to Our Online Service Portfolio
We are pleased to offer a new online service called JobNow™: a real-time resume and interview coaching/career advice service that uses innovative online platform technology. JobNow™ is available to local users via any Internet-ready computer. Register to use the service at the library or use your East Hampton library card to register from a remote computer.

About JobNow™
JobNow™ provides you with a host of services to help in every step of the job search process. Online job coaches are available to help you with job search related questions. In addition to helping beginning job seekers pinpoint their desired career field, coaches can also provide constructive suggestions on resumes, help write a professional cover letter, and give live interview practice and feedback.

If you do not have time for a live session, you may submit your resume at any time of day through the Resume Lab and a job coach will send it back to you generally within 1 business day with detailed feedback and suggestions for improvement. The JobNow™ service also comes with an extensive collection of resources, including:

• resume/cover letter templates
• interview tips
• general sample interview questions
• industry-specific sample interview questions, and
• a diverse array of online resources and links.

About Brainfuse™
Founded in 1999, Brainfuse is one of the nation’s leading online tutoring providers, serving a diversified client base of libraries and school districts. For more information about Brainfuse services, please visit www.brainfuse.com.

Here Comes the Sun...

Clean Energy, Renewable Energy

Earlier today, workers were amazingly able to stroll across the library's pitched roof while laying rails needed to support a solar panel array. The Community Center, which houses your library and Senior Center, is the first public building in town to be outfitted with the panels.

The panels were installed owing to a partnership program forged by our town's Clean Energy Task Force and Glastonbury-based DCS Energy. DCS provides the solar technology to East Hampton at no cost; the town picks up the minor costs associated with installing the array's monitoring system.

Installing the array allows DCS to recoup money through state tax credits and rebates. The panels are expected to shave electricity bills and save East Hampton an estimated $75,000 over the 25 year life of solar system. Good deal!

About East Hampton's Clean Energy Task Force

Our town's Clean Energy Task Force is an all volunteer board composed of knowledgeable local citizens committed to promoting green energy efforts and quality of life in a go-green environment.

About DCS

DCS is a 4-year-old company and is a member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and ClubGreen, a subsidiary of buildingctgreen.com.

Eric Girardi "Bends Gravity" : Saturday, September 18, 2 p.m.

Magic or Science? We'll Find Out!

Join us @ your library and watch Eric Girardi perform his gravity bending show! In his own words, Girardi calls the show art in motion, as he manipulates objects in a performance choreographed to music.

Girardi is a world ranked yo-yo player and has performed at hundreds of special events hosted by colleges, cub scouts, schools, and YMCAs. Audience members have raved about Girardi's tricks, describing them as crazy and entertaining. For a sample of Eric's gravity-based wizardry, watch a quick video to see Eric demonstrate a Gyroscopic Flop...

Eric's performance promises to be both energetic and fast paced and is appropriate for kids age 8 and up. The event is also free and open to the public; however, registration is required. Click here to register or phone the library at 860-267-6621.

On Poets and Poetry : September to April Series Returns

Donald Hall (1928-) was born in Hamden, Connecticut. He began writing in grammar school, and first published at 16. At the same age he attended Breadloaf where he met Robert Frost, among others. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Harvard, and a B.Litt from Oxford. He was a Writing Fellow at Stanford where he studied under Yvor Wintors.

While teaching at U. Michigan he met the poet Jane Kenyon. They married and the couple moved in 1975 to Wilmot, New Hampshire. Her death 20 years later of leukemia (after his own bouts with colon and liver cancer) cast a pall of grief over his work of that period which is best characterized by a line in the poem “Kill the Day”: ‘How many times will he die in his own lifetime?’

He has 20 collections of poetry, 11 children’s books, 3 dramas, and 2 volumes each of biography, short stories, and memoirs. His recognitions include U.S. Poet Laureate, N.H. State Laureate, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize for Lifetime Achievement, and numerous book awards and prizes.

Ox Cart Man
In October of the year,
he counts potatoes dug from the brown field,
counting the seed, counting
the cellar's portion out,
and bags the rest on the cart's floor.

He packs wool sheared in April, honey
in combs, linen, leather
tanned from deerhide,
and vinegar in a barrel
hooped by hand at the forge's fire.

He walks by his ox's head, ten days
to Portsmouth Market, and sells potatoes,
and the bag that carried potatoes,
flaxseed, birch brooms, maple sugar, goose
feathers, yarn.

When the cart is empty he sells the cart.
When the cart is sold he sells the ox,
harness and yoke, and walks
home, his pockets heavy
with the year's coin for salt and taxes,

and at home by fire's light in November cold
stitches new harness
for next year's ox in the barn,
and carves the yoke, and saws planks
building the cart again.

Further Reading
Old and New Poems
Ox-cart Man

Content developed by local resident and poet Leland Jamieson, author of:

21st Century Bread (2007)

In Vitro : New Short Rhyming Poems Post-9/11 (2009)

Happy Labor Day!

"If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend." ~ Doug Larson

Though originally associated with the American labor movement, today's Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer and for sure, the beginning of fair season.

Check out the Library of Congress's website to learn more about Labor Day's historical roots. America's first Labor Day parade was held in 1882 in New York City; Congress made Labor Day a national holiday twelve years later.

Books and Reading
Though likely to inspire spirited debate, here's a short list of well-written books about the early origins and mid-20th century outcomes of the U.S. labor movement.

From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend : a Short, Illustrated History of Labor in the United States by Priscilla Murolo and A.B. Chitty ; illustrations by Joe Sacco

A Brief History of the Connecticut Labor Movement by Marta Moret

The Woman Behind the New Deal : the Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience by Kirstin Downey

For Kids
The Unions ; written and illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
The Factories ; written and illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
Labor Day by Carmen Bredeson

Header cartoon by Clay Bennett,

editorial cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor from 1997-2007

Into the Wild...

Back to Nature...
Owing to local interest, the library recently updated its book collection on the topic of edible wild plants. The following guides may help readers identify wild plants that may be used for food. As aways, we don't endorse the content and recommend caution and additional research before making your choices.

Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts : How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them by Katie Letcher Lyle is from Falcon Guides, a publisher of outdoor recreation guides.

Edible Wild Plants : Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate is authored by John Kallas, who hosts the Wild Food Adventures website.

Edible Wild Plants : a North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods by Thomas S. Elias & Peter Dykeman is latest edition of book originally published in 1982 by Outdoor Life, a publisher imprint and magazine now owned by the Bonnier Group, which also publishes Field & Stream.

Surf's Up
Wild Food Adventures
American Herb Association
American Horticultural Society
Wilderness Survival: Edible and Medicinal Plants
Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes

September is National Cholesterol Education Month

It's All In the Numbers
Are you trying to figure out what all of those numbers and acronyms on your cholesterol test mean? You're not alone. The American Heart Association can help you sort it out with these recommendations for the average person's cholesterol levels. Check with your doctor to determine your target ranges.

Total Cholesterol : less than 200HDL
Cholesterol (good cholesterol...think "H" for happy) : more than 60
LDL Cholesterol (bad cholesterol...think "L" for lousy) : less than 100
Triglycerides (most common type of fat in the body) : less than 150

Once you know whether or not you need to improve your levels, check out the following books and websites to get started on heart healthy cooking and lifestyle changes. Collectively, these resources offer advice on changing your cholesterol for the better.

Books & Reading
The library has a wide range of cookbooks that feature low cholesterol recipes. Also find a variety of titles if you prefer vegetarian and/or vegan recipes. For general readers (and diners!), we'll mention a few titles that may be of interest.

Olive Oil Baking: Heart-Healthy Recipes that Increase Good Cholesterol...
American Heart Association Cookbook
Beyond Cholesterol
Cholesterol Cures
Love in the Time of Cholesterol : a Memoir with Recipes
Engine 2 Diet

Surf's Up
American Heart Association
National Institutes of Health
or get involved on Go Red for Women

See You After School!!

FriBrary Time and Footprint Friday Programs

The library offers year-round programs for fourth and fifth graders (FriBrary) and for second and third graders (Footprint Friday). We recently announced our series of fall programs, held after school on Fridays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., in the library community room.

FriBrary Time Goes Green

Owing to a grant from and ongoing cooperation with the Rockfall Foundation, we'll continue with our year-long series of go green programs this fall. Programs seek to educate 4th and 5th graders on ways to preserve and protect our environment.

Check out our online events calendar and register today for FriBrary programs on September 17, October 1, October 15, and November 5.

Footprint Fridays : Meet Your Favorite Characters

This series is all about adventure, playing games, and getting to know some really cool characters in way cool books. Register today to bring your problem-solving skills and funny bones to the library on September 24, October 8, and November 12.

39 Clues Movie Sneak Preview

39 Clues Draws to a Close
If you have been following the brother and sister team in this series, you are probably anticipating 39 Clues book #10. This book, Into the Gauntlet by Magaret Peterson Haddix, is the last in the fast paced mystery and adventure series and is due out on August 31st.

For anyone new to 39 Clues, the library has copies of all of the previous nine books in the series. Once you start reading the series, it will be hard not to root for Amy and Dan as they work to finally find out all the answers to their questions.

39 Clues fans may also be happy to know that there is an online component to the series. Check out Scholastic Book Group's 39 Clues website and a teaser/trailer for the upcoming movie.


Further Reading
If you liked 38 Clues, try the following books/series:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians... Series by Rick Riordan
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Peter and the... Series by Dave Barry
Bone Series by Jeff Smith
Gods of Manhattan by Scott Mebus
Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Post by Kathleen Sands

Telephone Daze...

National "Do Not Call List"
We have and we're sure you too have received alarming emails that go something like this...

'REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month. REMINDER..... all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.'

Scary stuff. Especially if you've ditched your land line or use your cell as a refuge from offers to thatch your roof or take a 30 day tour of Bali for $99.

No matter which phone plan arrangements you've made, the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) National Do Not Call List has accepted cell phone numbers since 2003. Registrations become effective within 31 days of signing up. There is no cut-off date or deadline for registrations.

Also check out the FTC's advice about 'do not call' scams.

Fribrary Time Hits the Road

Green-Theme Trip to the CRRA Trash Museum in Hartford, CT

As part of our year-long series of go-green programs, offered in collaboration with the Rockfall Foundation, the library organized a trip to the Trash Museum in Hartford, CT on August 13th. This trip gave a boost to our commitment to educate children in 4th and 5th grade about the environment and ways to protect and preserve it.

For this Fribrary Time trip, the library also reached out to a local childcare center, Kids of Chatham Organization (KOCO), to help ensure that many children in our community were able to participate in the program.

Trash Museum Recap

At the museum, our guide showed us the various types of recyclables. We were then able to look down through large windows and via cameras at the center's activities. We learned how the trucks arrive and tip their contents onto the "tipping floor." Next, machines and workers begin the sorting process, using a variety of technology, such as magnets, and hand sorting. We also played an "I Spy" game in the Trash Palace, a small castle erected completely of ... garbage!

Finally, we were shown some fun items that can be made from recyclables. Our guide pointed out to us that so many items we use every day can be recycled and reused many times over before a final trip to the trash. A fun and educational time was had by all, adults included!

Next Up in Our Go-Green Series

Our next Fribrary Times Goes Green program is scheduled on August 27th at 3:30 p.m. Register today for this program led by graduate students in UCONN's Center for Urban Transportation and Planning!

Post by Kathleen Sands

Fribrary Time Kids Go Green

Road Trip!
There is still time to register for our library's Fribrary Time field trip to CRRA's Trash Museum, located in Hartford. The trip is scheduled for this Friday, August 13th. School bus leaves the library parking lot at 1:45 p.m. sharp, with a scheduled pick-up at KOCO shortly thereafter.

The Five R's : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Rethink!
Once we arrive in Hartford, you'll be treated to a guided and interactive exploration of the museum exhibits that will help explain all aspects of waste management. You'll view the working recycling center and also take part in a hands-on activity! What better way to learn what happens to your trash after you trash it?

The field trip is open to kids entering grades 4-6 in fall 2010; parent permission to participate is required.

Call the library at 860-267-6621 for additional information about the trip. This is one of an ongoing series of environmental education events sponsored by the library, in collaboration with Middlesex County's Rockfall Foundation.

Magic-Filled Days at Sears Park

Ed 'Pop' Dazzles Yet Again!
Since summer 2005, the library has delivered outreach services to Sears Park campers in collaboration with the East Hampton Parks & Recreation Department.

Outreach services include making it easy for campers to read during summer (we deliver books once a week and check them out to campers) and our two town departments also co-host an end-of-summer entertainment program. Ed 'Pop' (Popielarczyk) performed his magic show today before a very engaged audience of kiddos and adults. Hope you all had a great time!

Short video here:

Blackjack Progam Rescheduled

Blackjack the Smart Way with Richard Harvey
Richard Harvey, bestselling book author, will demystify the game and teach you a thing or two about how to increase your odds of winning at the blackjack table on Wednesday, September 15, beginning at 7 p.m. in the library community room. The event was rescheduled owing to a number of requests from our patrons.

About the Workshop
The workshop will include a multi-media presentation, demonstrations, practice hands, and a discussion of theoretical math models, shuffling studies, and player strategies. All playing levels, including beginners, are welcomed to attend though registration is required. Even if you don't gamble (but like math) the program will prove to be very interesting.

About Richard Harvey
Harvey is the author of a number of blackjack guides including Blackjack the Smart Way and is recognized as one of the top authorities on the subject. His blackjack program has been a popular feature at many public libraries throughout our state.

Summer Reads : From Paper to Screen

Books and Movies
Many recent and upcoming films have a connection to books and literature. Here's a few local favorites : some fluff, some not so fluff.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell with DVD due for release in mid-October.

Alice in Wonderland, based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Check out Jabberwocky if you dare!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the book by Roald Dahl. Click here for other Dahl-inspired books-to-film and bet you'll be surprised Dahl wrote the screenplay for a Bond movie!

On the Nicholas Sparks schmaltzy pleasure front, try Dear John or The Last Song; the latter is due for DVD release August 17.

Lise & Ceil Friedman's Letters to Juliet: Celebrating Shakespeare's Greatest Heroine, the Magical City of Verona, and the Power of Love looks at one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters and tells the story of the volunteers who have been answering the thousands of letters from all over the world received in Verona addressed to Juliet since the 1930s. The book-based film is due for DVD release on September 14.

Also check out the The Lovely Bones or Extraordinary Measures and make sure you've read Charlie St. Cloud or Eat, Pray, Love before you buy your tickets.

Hot Fiction Picks from Favorite Authors

Steamy Days, Steamy Reads

Summer 2010 has been warm and as the cliche goes we don't mind the heat but hate the humidity! If you're a weather geek, you can check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's State of the Climate Report. Better yet, tough it out at the beach with a good read. Books can add steam of the welcomed variety...

One Day by David Nicholls

Over twenty years, snapshots of an unlikely relationship on the same day -- July 15th -- of each year. Expect a movie; this one is ready-made for big screen treatment and is somewhat reminiscent of Same Time Next Year and Groundhog Day.

Star Island by Carl Hiaasen

This latest off-beat novel from the very funny Hiaasen stars twenty-something singer Cheryl Bunterman (aka Cherry Pye) and recurring characters Chemo and Skink. Plenty of pop-culture humor to satisfy anyone who laughs at the celebrity gossip industry.

Queen of the Night by J.A. Jance

This mystery novel (after Day of the Dead) features former homicide detective Brandon Walker and his wife, novelist Diana Ladd. Murders, cold case and new, impact the Tohono O'odham Nation residents and their [Arizona] neighbors. The novel is dedicated to the late Tony Hillerman.

Hangman by Faye Kellerman

The latest in series (after Blindman's Bluff) featuring Lt. Peter Decker and his wife, Rina Lazarus.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Fans of Tudor England historicals will surely appreciate Gregory's latest about Margaret Beaufort, grandmother of King Henry VIII, and key player in the War of the Roses. Second in The Cousins' War series (after the White Queen) from the author of The Other Boleyn Girl.

Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux

If you read Days of Gold, take a trip back to Edilean, VA and enjoy the characters, both old and new.

Burn by Nevada Barr

Next in a series of Anna Pigeon novels (after Borderline) takes the ranger to the Jazz National Heritage Park in post Katrina New Orleans.

Due for Release on Tuesday, August 10

Tough Customer by Sandra Brown

Cure by Robin Cook

The Vigilantes by W.E.B. Griffin (Badge of Honor ; v. 10)

Veil of Night by Linda Howard

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Back to School
As back to school days are quickly creeping up on us and that yearly school physical looms in the near future, take a moment to learn about vaccinations for your child. Whether this is your child's first experience with immunizations or they are due for new ones, below is a short list of new books that discuss the topic.

With many aspects to consider (personal beliefs, religious background, schooling preferences, medical philosophy, etc.), we've included web site links as well.

The Everything Parent's Guide to Vaccines by Leslie Young
Should Vaccinations Be Mandatory? Noeel Merino, editor
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vaccinations by Michael Joseph Smith and Laurie Bouck
Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners by Neil Miller

Surf's Up
Centers for Disease Control (includes the CDC's recommended schedule for adults and children)
American Academy of Pediatrics
Vaccination Risk Awareness Network

Post by Kathleen Sands

Consumer Reports : The Thoughtful Shopper's Companion

Did You Know? Trusted Advice is Only a Click Away
If you missed the news along the way, the EHPL offers online access to Consumer Reports. What do you need to access the service? One thing: a valid East Hampton Public Library card!

About Consumer Reports Online
Known as one of the most trusted resources for information and advice on consumer products, this award-winning website contains information that enables consumers to make better purchasing decisions on the products they are shopping for. In addition, users will find advice and tips on saving money on home improvement plans, how to shore up personal finances, ways to improve health and much more.

Ratings, Reviews, Recommendations, Report Cards
Consumer Reports provides ratings and reviews, recommendations and buying advice across several franchises. Each product includes an overview and a ratings report card, as well as tester reviews & recommendations. Additional information includes brand reliability and user reviews, plus news, blogs, forums and video content.

Logging In
Grab your East Hampton Public Library card, click here, and enter your library card barcode number (no spaces please) in the Patron ID field.