Fiction Finalists

NBA 2012
Ready to read off the best seller list? Try one of the five fiction books nominated for a 2012 National Book Award, scheduled for award on November 14.

Click on the title to check book reviews, availability, or to place hold.  Click on the author to read an author bio, an excerpt from the book, and to explore additional links.

This Is How You Lose Her -- by Junot Diaz
A Hologram for the King -- by Dave Eggers
The Round House -- by Louise Erdrich
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk -- by Ben Fountain
The Yellow Birds -- by Kevin Powers

Ridin' In Your Car

Vroom... Vroom...
If you are an antique car aficionado or car lover in general, you may be pleased to know the library has a subscription to Automobile Quarterly, aptly subtitled The Connoisseur's Magazine of Motoring  - Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow.

East Hampton's own Belltown Antique Car Club funds the subscription.  Meet with like-minded car club fans first Wednesday of the month in the library's Community Room.

Books and Reading

On the cars in books front, we offer quick picks for cool-on-wheels reading:

Engines of Change : A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars by Paul Ingrassia
An entertaining social history of the fifteen cars : from the Model-T, to the sporty or speedy, and on to mini-vans, utilities, and hybrids.

Blood and Smoke : The Unsolved Mystery of the First Indie 500 by Charles Leerhsen
Explore the early days of Indie and we mean early. The first Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909.

Car : The Definitive History of the Automobile edited by Kathryn Hennessy
From DK, enjoy an "international view of the automobile through time."

Online Service

For DIY car repair and maintenance, there is no more trusted name than Chilton's Manuals. Now with ChiltonLibrary.com, you can access wiring diagrams, diagnostic codes, and maintenance tables for thousands of cars and trucks -- 24/7. Use your East Hampton Public Library card barcode number to log in.

Mars Madness

Late Spring on Mars
Image courtesy of NASA.gov

Red Planet Favorites
Understanding Mars is always a hot topic, made hotter still last August when "Curiosity" became the fourth rover to explore the Red Planet.  On the Mars in fiction front, we offer a round-up of a few classics.

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars)
Prelude to Mars by Arthur C. Clark
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Mars Trilogy (Mars, Return to Mars, Mars Life) by Ben Bova
Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven
John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Non-Fiction Picks

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
Less about Mars than the effects of long-term space travel.
Roving Mars (documentary video)
The story of NASA's two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which are currently driving around Mars.
Sojourner : an Insider's View of the Mars Pathfinder Mission by Andrew Mishkin
Chronicles one of the early Mars landing missions. We've since moved on to roving...

For Kids
Far-out Guide to Mars by Mary Kay Carson
The Mighty Mars Rovers : the Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity by Elizabeth Rusch
Mars : You Decide How to Survive! by Hena Khan and David Borgenicht

Surf's Up
NASA Mars Exploration Program
Discovery Space : Top 10 Sites on Mars
NASA Be a Martian!

Day of Discovery

Image courtesy of
DC Public Library

Columbus Day Holiday
We're certain you all remember the first line of this poem :
"In fourteen hundred ninety two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

We're also certain you'll all be out and about tomorrow and so we offer a few suggestions on how to spend a little of your Columbus Day quiet time.

Christopher Columbus : Walk the Plank Game
Answer 10 trivia questions from a bank of 20 though the motivational message is most certainly quirky and your choice. There are many other free versions of Walk the Plank history games available.

BBC Primary History : Famous People
Learn or refresh you knowledge about Columbus, then play a game to help Columbus prepare for his voyage.

Nova Online : Lost At Sea - The Search for Longitude
On the more challenging front, try your hand at being a virtual marine navigator. You'll need a Shockwave plug-in to play.

See you on Tuesday, October 9 at 10 a.m. The library is closed tomorrow, Columbus Day.

Our Shoes Were Made For Walking

And That's Just What We'll Do...
On any day and in conventional time, you are likely to see East Hampton's walkers. Some stroll; others power walk. Some walk with their children and/or favorite pooch; others may walk for a more solitary experience. Some you'll meet on the larger Village Center's sidewalk system; others on more rural roads and trails.

If you're walking, or thinking about it, we offer a quick list of titles that may provide can-do inspiration. Armchair travel and other reads to ponder round out the list.

Chiwalking : The Five Mindful Steps for Lifelong Health and Energy by Danny Dreyer and Katherine Dreyer

Dog Walks Man : A Six-Legged Odyssey by John Zeaman

The Connecticut Walk Book East from the CT Park & Forest Association

Healing Walks for Hard Times : Quiet Your Mind, Strengthen Your Body, and Get Your Life Back by Carolyn Scott Kortge

Walk a Hound Lose a Pound : How You and Your Dog Can Lose Weight, Stay Fit, and Have Fun Together by Phil Zeltzman and Rebecca A. Johnson

Walk Off Weight by Michele Stanten

Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins

Wanderlust : a History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit

The Lost Art of Walking : the History, Science, Philosophy and Literature of Pedestrianism by Geoff Nicholson 

The Walker's Companion by Elizabeth Ferber

Videos
Walking for Weight Loss
Walk Away the Pounds : Super Fat Burning with Leslie Sansone
Leslie Sansone's Walk and Jog
Leslie Sansone Walk at Home

Audio Companions
Nothing like a soothing voice and a good read to help you pass the time on the walkway. The library offers downloadable audio books and audio books on CD and MP3 disc. Enjoy your stroll ... animated cutie courtesy of Animateit.net.

"L" Is for "Library and "Z" Is for Zombie

Zombify You! 
Buckle up costume party fans! Get grungy and learn how to "zombify" yourself using guidance from makeup artists Caroline Wilcox and Deb Brennan. With makeup in place, we'll add some accessories, practice the zombie shuffle, and move around like the undead (a very 'rigor'ous way to walk).

This pre-Halloween program is scheduled for Saturday, October 27th beginning at 1 p.m. Appropriate for zombie hordes ages 12 and up; click here to register.

Zombie Page-Turners
A quick list of walking dead favorites for older tweens or older teens, several more subtle than the usual zombie fare.
The Enemy Series by Charlie Higson (In order : The Enemy, The Dead, The Fear)
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon (In order : Infinity, Invincible, Infamous)
Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory
World War Z by Max Brooks
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Series
Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Zone One by Colson Whitehead

Just for Fun : Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse
Laugh if you must but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is capitalizing of the zombie craze.  Here's one in a series of public service widgets designed to encourage emergency preparedness.

Elections for Little People

Cast Your Ballots!
Though your grade school kids won't be voting in the upcoming election, we here offer a quick list of lively books with a seasonal flavor. Fiction and non-fiction titles are included, mainly written with a light touch.

Election Day by Margaret McNamara
Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio
Vote for Me! by Ben Clanton
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier
Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
Vote! by Eileen Christelow
Madam President by Lane Smith
Babymouse for President by Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm
White House Kids by Joe Rhatigan
Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel
John, Paul, George and Ben by Lane Smith
Our White House : Looking In, Looking Out with an introduction by David McCullough
Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley
The Democratic Process by Mark Friedman
The U.S. Constitution by Michael Burgan
George vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer
Who's Haunting the White House? : the President's Mansion and the Ghosts Who Live There by Jeff Belanger
Presidential Races : Campaigning for the White House by Arlene Morris-Lipsman

Surf's Up
Web sites worth a gander...
Congress for Kids : from the Dirksen Congressional Center
Kids in the House : Four levels of content about the U.S. House of Representatives
Kids.gov : A portal to .edu and .gov websites
iCivics.org : A civics education site founded in 2009 by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; for tweens, teens, and adults!

Thanks to School Library Journal for inspiration!

Reading Rock...

Who Are They?
Who? Who?
Welcome a bunker crop of bios and rock memoirs, and excepting Ozzy's, all with highly inventive black and white cover photos!  Read 'em and rock...

Neil Young -- Bruce Springsteen -- Pete Townshend -- Gregg Allman -- Metallica -- Mick Jagger -- Ozzy Ozbourne -- Carole King.

Scare Up A Good Book

Silly, Spooky, Scary, Splendid!
Autumn's here, Halloween is just around the corner, and now is the time to start rounding up a few good reads to get in the mood for the colorful, boorific days ahead. Here's a few quick lists of latest (or greatest) titles for kids.

Board Books
Gentle or non-threatening stories in board book format, for your littlest people:
Five Little Pumpkins -- It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse! -- Happy Halloween, Biscuit! -- Ghosts In the House! -- Goodnight Goon : a Petrifying Parody -- Horns, Tails, Spikes and Claws -- Mouse's First Halloween

Picture Books, Early and Easy Readers, and Then Some
Do browse our Holiday Book collection for Halloween titles; several of the latest are listed below. Also listed are a few non-seasonal titles with outside-the-box stories about what might be scary, silly scary, or not so scary after all. As always, parents, choose for yourselves or for your kids.

Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere
Black Dog by Levi Pinfold
The Boo! Book : A Haunted Picture Book by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Monster School : First Day Frights by Dave Keane
The Monster's Monster by Patrick McDonnell
My First Ghost by Maggie Miller and Michael Leviton
That One Spooky Night by Dan Bar-el
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro
Trick or Treat by Leo Landry
Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace

Non-Fiction for Older Kids
Horrogami : 25 Creepy Creatures, Ghastly Ghouls, and Other Fiendish Paper Projects by Chris Marks
Last Laughs : Animal Epitaphs by J. Patrick Lewis and Jane Yolen
A Halloween Cookbook : Simple Recipes for Kids by Sarah L. Schuette

Happy 50th Big Red!

Loved and Larger by the Day...
Scholastic Publishing, the company brings us Norman Bridwell's Clifford books, is this year asking us to help celebrate big red's 50th (in human years) birthday.  Check out Scholastic's site for fun ways to wish your favorite pooch a Happy Birthday, including participating a national sing-along on September 24!

Interview With Norman Bridwell

Free Shred-It Day

Morning to Early Afternoon
The library will offer secure document shredding services to our community on Saturday, September 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Why Shred?
Identity theft is a growing national concern and shredding your sensitive documents is one way to reduce the risk of becoming an identity theft victim.

What to Bring
Bring your papers for shredding in a safe and secure environment. This is terrific opportunity for you to safely dispose of sensitive documents such as bank statements, old cancelled checks, credit card statements, tax papers, and medical records.

Shred-It truck will be located in the upper lot of the Community Center complex.

Please do check with your financial advisor for information on how long documents must be kept.

There Is Always a Catch
Shred for free but not without a donation to the East Hampton Food Bank.

Send It Around
Click here for another way to add to your calendar or send the news around.

Clutter

Image courtesy of the
Mid-Continent Public Library, MO

Loving Your Stuff ...
Do you have what you might affectionately refer to as a junk drawer? How about a closet with a corner akin to an explorer's great unknown? Love shoes, do you? Have enough toys to open a branch of Santa's workshop?  Are you looking to downsize and fit your stuff into a smaller space? You are not alone...

Here's a quick list of recent, on-the-way, or well-known clutter-busting titles you might enjoy, each written from a different perspective. As always, pick and choose.

Unstuff Your Life! : Kick the Clutter Habit and Organize Your Life for Good by Andrew J. Mellen

Unclutter Your Life in One Week by Erin Rooney Doland
Clutter Busting by Brooks Palmer
To Much Stuff : Winning the War Against Clutter by Kathryn Porter
Soulspace : Transform Your Home, Transform Your Life.. by Xorin Balbes 
Organize for a Fresh Start : Embrace Your Next Chapter in Life by Susan Fay West
10,001 Ways to Declutter Your Home on a Small Budget by Ed Morrow, Sheree Bykofsky, and Rita Rosenkranz
Stop Throwing Money Away : Turn the Clutter Into Cash, Trash Into Treasure.. by Jamie Novak
Smart Office Organizing : Simple Strategies for Bringing Order to Your Workplace by Sandra Felton and Marsha Sims

Boo!

Spooky Stories
Many love a good ghost story now and again. If you are one of them, join us at the library on Saturday, September 15, for an afternoon Ghosts and Hauntings program presented by author and lecturer, Jeff Belanger.  Jeff is the writer and researcher for the Ghost Adventures show on the Travel Channel and hosts popular Web and cable talk show 30 Odd Minutes.

Ghost Stories : Believe 'Em or Not
Here's a quick list of adult non-fiction books, of all different stripes, about the topic.  As always, choose for yourself or for your kids.

Connecticut's Seaside Ghosts by Donald Carter
Ghost Stories and Legends of Southwestern Connecticut by Donna Kent

Ghost Hunters of New England by Alan Brown
Kids Who See Ghosts : How to Guide Them Through Fear by Caron Goode
Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting by Jeff Belanger
Picture Yourself Legend Tripping by Jeff Belanger
Yankee Ghosts by Hans Holzer
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Ghosts of Nantucket : 23 True Accounts by Blue Balliett
Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits and Haunted Places by Brad Steiger

The Demonologist : The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren by Gerald Brittle
The Paranormal Caught on Film : Amazing Photographs of Ghosts, Poltergeists and Other Strange Phenomena by Melvyn Willin
Haunted Hikes : Spine Tingling Trails and Tales from North America's National Parks by Andrea Lankford

Ghosts in Fiction Books
Another quick list, classic and contemporary, shelved in adult fiction or story collections:

Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

The Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Shining by Stephen King
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
Ghosts : Recent Hauntings, edited by Paula Guran
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Telling Stories...

Reading Memoirs
Memoirs are immensely popular and can sometimes go a long way in helping us illuminate our own lives.

We offer a quick roundup of memoirs published this year. Several have achieved best-seller status and/or critical acclaim. Click on a title for book descriptions and reviews. As a lead in, you might enjoy an article about the history of memoirs, courtesy of The New Yorker.

Sharp by David Fitzpatrick

Dan Gets a Minivan by Dan Zevin

A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez

Dropped Names by Frank Langella

By the Iowa Sea by Joe Blair

The Cost of Hope by Amanda Bennett

Full Body Burden by Kristin Iversen

Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel

The Great Northern Express by Howard Frank Mosher

Dying To Be Me by Anita Moorjani

Burn Down the Ground by Kambri Crews

Bloom : Finding Beauty in the Unexpected by Kelle Hampton

No Cheating, No Dying. I Had a Good Marriage Then I Tried to Make It Better by Elizabeth Weil

MWF Seeking BFF : My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend by Rachel Bertsche

People Who Eat Darkness : the True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo and the Evil that Swallowed Her Up by Richard Lloyd Parry

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Paris : A Love Story by Kati Marton

Read the Book... Watch the Film

Books-to-Film
Here's to exciting days ahead as many great books find their way to the big screen.  Several books-to-film are already generating Oscar buzz though all we can find are a couple of trailers on YouTube. Go figure...

Now Showing
Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo
Robert Pattinson as a Wall Street master of the universe in freefall.

The Bourne Legacy by Eric Van Lustbader
After Robert Ludlum's death, Lustbader took over the franchise. In the film, Jeremy Renner is the new Matt Damon, er... Jason Bourne.

September 14
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Everyone's favorite summer reading selection now featuring Harry Potter favorite, Emma Watson, as a spot-on American teen.

October 12
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The objectivist classic gets its long-awaited Part 2 film treatment.

October 19th
Killing Them Softly (Originally Cogan's Trade) by George V. Higgins
Brad Pitt plays a hitman on the trail of two hoodlums who've robbed the wrong people. Tyler Perry also takes a turn as Alex Cross, the guy from James Patterson's thrillers.

November 16
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The tenth or so adaptation (Jane Eyre anyone?), this one with Keira Knightley and Jude Law. Let's not forget Breaking Dawn, Part 2 from the Twilight Saga series.

November 21
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Martel's beloved novel won 2002's Man Booker Prize.

December 14
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Dueling blockbusters...

Bricks + Imagination = Limitless Possibilities

Still Loving LEGO™

Now's the time to watch for latest information on how your kiddo can participate in East Hampton's FIRST LEGO League [FLL], 2012. Soon to start its second year, our local league is open to girls and boys ages 9-14, with an interest in cutting-edge science, robotics, technology, and exploring and recommending engineered solutions to real-world problems.

If the student(s) in your home are interested and have not already signed up to participate, give us a call and we'll put you in touch with our league's coordinator. Cost to your family is $25. League sponsors currently include the East Hampton Rotary Club, the league's first organizer, and the library.

Surf's Up
Check out the Connecticut FIRST web site to see what it's all about and hey there parents, there are oodles of ways to help mentor a team. Please do offer your time if you can.

Books and Reading and Games, Too
Click here for an abbreviated list of LEGO-related titles available at the library. Recommendations welcomed.

Just for Fun : Legos ROCK!
Need another way to think about Bricks + Imagination = Limitless Possibilities? Always make time to dance!

And by request...

Happy Birthday Julia!

Julia Child Born
August 15, 1912

Don Your Apron and Cook a Little Something
Though tributes to Julia Child are aplenty today, we offer a round-up of local resources by or about a woman who helped many a cook get in touch with their inner French chef.  Cookbooks first :

Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Julia Child and More Company
The Way to Cook
Cooking with the Master Chefs
Julia's Kitchen Wisdom

All About Julia
Appetite for Life by Noel Riley Fitch
My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
Julia Child by Laura Shapiro
A Covert Affair : Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS by Jennet Conant
Dearie : the Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz

Don't forget the wildly entertaining Julie and Julia : 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell, book or book-to-film; the latter featuring a spot-on performance of Julia by Meryl Streep.

For Your Little Kitchen Assistant
Two charming books for kids:
Bon Appetit! the Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland
Minette's Feast : the Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat by Susanna Reich

Surf's Up
Julia's TV program, French Chef, premiered on PBS station WGBY in 1962. Catch a snappy tune tribute to Julia below, then click on over to PBS Food to watch Cooking With the Master Chefs, including episodes with Jacques Pepin, Emeril Lagasse, Nancy Silverton, Alice Waters, and Lidia Bastianich, among many others. Also find info and video tributes to Julia on Biography.com or try a virtual tour of Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

In With the Old?

Image courtesy of the
Wesleyan Writers Blog

Hidden Treasures
If you like the smell and feel of old books -- absent a whiff of nasty -- here's a short list of memorable library oldies, all great reads, on which we'd like to shine a little not-UV light.  We'll follow with a video on why old books have a distinctive smell and with contemporary pointers on dabbing your e-reader behind the ears for an old-new-new-old olfactory experience.

Kon-Tiki : Across the Pacific by Raft by Thor Heyerdahl
Aku-Aku : The Story of Easter Island by Thor Heyerdahl
Nook Farm : Mark Twain's Hartford Circle by Kenneth R. Andrews
Connecticut Beautiful by Wallace Nutting
The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost; edited by Edward Connery Lathem
Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint Exupery
Letters from the Field, 1925-1975 by Margaret Mead
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Great Adventures and Explorations from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, ed.
Another Country by James Baldwin
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Why Do Old Books Smell?
From AbeBooks, an online seller of new, used, old and out-of-print titles.

Smells Like Book Spirit?
Yes indeed there is a scent called In the Library which offers "a scent of old books; Russian & Moroccan leather bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish." Listen to the story of the scent, courtesy of NPR.

You can also try Paper Passion, a smell that promises to replicate the smell of a "freshly printed book." Click here for info, via Roger Ebert.

The debate about the fate of the printed book continues, with perfumes...

Fountain of Knowledge

Page Turning Public Fountain Will Remind Future Generations of How Printed Books Worked

From Budapest, courtesy of the folks at Gizmodo.

The Next Best Thing to Being There...

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884
Georges Seurat

Google Art Project
Art lovers will surely appreciate Google's latest collaboration with museums from around the world and the endeavor to make great art more accessible to real people. The images are delivered in super high resolution; so much so that you can often use a 'zoom' function to see a master painter's brushwork details.

Featured museums include The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée d’Orsay (Paris). For some museums, you can even take a virtual tour, similar to the street view feature used on Google Maps.

Though online comments indicate not everyone loves virtual reproductions and there is surely a little cumbersome clunk in the project's search engine, truth is many of us won't be flying to Paris anytime soon. Have some fun with this one.

Regional Museums
Good news is the MetMuseum, MOMA, the Whitney, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are not that far away.

Connecticut Art Trail and Library Passes
Also good news is you can enjoy the Connecticut Art Trail. The library offers discount admission passes to three museums on the Trail: Florence Griswold Museum, New Britain Museum of American Art, and Wadsworth Atheneum. These plus discount passes to the nationally renowned homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe...

Passes are funded by the Friends of the Library. Join the Friends today for as little as $5 to keep the program going.