location

Durham Public Library
7 Maple Avenue
Durham, CT 06422
860-349-9544

Hours:
10:00am - 9:00pm * Monday through Thursday
10:00am - 5:00pm * Friday and Saturday

blog description

"You see, I don't believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that's been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians."--Monty Python


Thursday, September 29, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

Bill's Pick:  Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, by James D. Hornfischer

Synopsis:
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”
 
With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur’s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.
 
In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S. history—and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a legendary victory.

Bill says:  A superb description of an important naval battle of WWII--how a few small destroyers held off a whole Japanese fleet.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

STAFF PICKS--The Gift of Rest

Carol's Pick...  The Gift of Rest:  Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath, by Senator Joe Lieberman, David Klinghoffer 

Synopsis:
As a busy United States senator, Joseph Lieberman knows how hectic life can be; as an observant Jew, he knows that that the Sabbath is a gift that has anchored, order, and inspired him over many decades. In The Gift of Rest, he describes how that ancient practice can enhance the meaningfulness of lives of men and women of all faiths. He shows that a true day of rest has countless benefits that are not supplied by our typical weekends of hectic activity. A call to restorative recentering.

Carol says:  I liked this book because it was informative concerning the Jewish Sabbath and why we should all honor our day of rest regardless of our religion.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

STAFF PICKS--The SEER OF SHADOWS

Diana's Staff Pick:  The Seer of Shadows, by Avi
(ages 9-12)

Synopsis:
The time is 1872. The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality. So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art. But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange things begin to happen.

Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead daughter, Eleanora.

Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora really was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful wraith intent on punishing those who abused her.

Rich in detail, full of the magic of early photography, here is a story about the shadows, visible and invisible, that are always lurking near.

Diana says:  I loved this book because it is historical and a ghost story all in one.  It takes place in NYC 1872 and has to do with spirit photography.  Do you have a spirit lurking in one of your photos?

Thursday, September 15, 2011

INTERVIEW WITH MARY E. PEARSON, YA AUTHOR

We have a special guest with us today at DPL BookTalk, Young Adult author Mary E. Pearson.    Mary’s newest book is The Fox Inheritance, which was released at the end of August.

Mary E. Pearson is the author of bestselling, award-winning novels for teens. The Miles Between was named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox was listed as a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, an IRA Young Adult Choice, NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age, and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. She is also the author of A Room on Lorelei Street, David v. God, and Scribbler of DreamsPearson studied art at Long Beach State University, and worked as an artist before earning her teaching credential at San Diego State University. She writes full-time from her home in California, where she lives with her husband and two dogs.  http://www.marypearson.com/index.html

From The Fox Inheritance:

Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.
Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.
Everyone except Jenna Fox.

DPL:  Mary, it’s great to have you here at DPL BookTalk!  I loved reading The Fox Inheritance because it has so many wonderful characters.  Who is your favorite?
MEP:  The main characters in my books are always my favorite—at least the one I am most wrapped up in because I have spent so much time in their head! I worry, fear, and fret for Locke and think about him a lot.  But I have to admit the secondary character who stole my heart was Dot.  She was a surprise, and even for me, I loved watching her personality unfold as I wrote the story.
DPL:  Do you base any of your characters on real people?
MEP: No, not fully, but of course they all are based on pieces of a lot of people I’ve known or met through the years.
DPL:  What subject did you like the best in high school?  Why?
MEP:  English!  Because I got to read and discuss a lot of books and I also had the opportunity to study language and play with words.  I suppose for a writer, this is not a surprise answer.  But other subjects I loved were art and science.
DPL:  What was your favorite book when you were a teen?
MEP:  That’s a tough one.  There were so many, but I would have to say The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was a favorite that had a definite impact on my future.  It was the first book that I read that felt like it was written for me.  I devoured it over and over again and it made me want to write similar relevant books for teens.
DPL:  Did you always want to be an author?
MEP: Yes.  Well, when I didn’t want to be a ballerina, or a secret agent, or—you get the idea.  I had a wild imagination and lots of different interests, but writing always felt like it was at my core. A day never went by when I wasn’t writing some sort of story in my head.
DPL:  What has had the biggest influence on your work?
MEP:  I think a lot of the poetry I loved and studied in my early years has had a direct effect on my writing process.  I love playing with language and finding just the right word and flow.
DPL:  What do you enjoy doing when you’re not writing?
MEP:  Being with my family, cooking, working out in the yard, cleaning up the clutter that accumulates so quickly when I’m writing.  Oddly, I don’t like disorganization, but when I’m writing it seems almost necessary—my desk and office become a clutter zone of piles of paper and notes that I rarely look at, but they’re there if I need them.  I call it Comfort Clutter.
DPL:  There so many great details about our futuristic world in The Fox Inheritance!  How did you do research for a story that is 260 years in the future?
MEP:  I went to the library of course!  The library had all kinds of science and technology magazines and journals where I could learn what some of the newest discoveries were, and what scientists were seeing on the horizon.
DPL:  Is there one message that you hope readers take away from The Fox Inheritance?
MEP:  No specific message.  I just always hope my books make readers think and contemplate their own viewpoints and perspectives.
DPL:  Are you working on a third Jenna Fox book?
MEP:  Yes!  This will be the final book in "The Jenna Fox Chronicles."
DPL:  What is the funniest question that you’ve been asked by a fan?
MEP:  Are you rich?
DPL:  What book(s) are you currently reading?
MEP:  My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody.  Loving it.
DPL:  Favorite food?
MEP:  Anything Mexican.
DPL:  Favorite movie?
MEP:  So many.  Liar, Liar always makes me laugh no matter how many times I’ve seen it.  Thanks for having me as a guest at your library, Patti!

DPL:  Thank you, Mary!!

--Patti

PUMPKINS, CORNUCOPIA, AND YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY BOOKS

I've been noticing the Halloween displays in the stores recently.  And a few places even had some Christmas items out already!  So, I'm starting to think about the holidays and decorations.  I plan to pull out the Fall/Halloween decorations this weekend, although I may wait to put up the Halloween ones until the end of September. It still seems a little early to me!


One of my favorite parts of celebrating the holidays is re-reading my favorite holiday books. For Halloween, I love Soul Enchilada, by David Macinnis Gill.  I can't think of any books that I've read for Thanksgiving, but I'll have to look into that! 


For Christmas, I always enjoy reading classics like The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore, and A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens.  The Mischief of the Mistletoe, by Lauren Willig, was a fun one that came out last year.  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J. K. Rowling, is another book that I like to read at Christmas.


 
How about you?  Do you have a favorite holiday book?  

--Patti

Thursday, September 8, 2011

STAFF PICKS: Wildthorn

Karyn's staff pick is Wildthorn, by Jane Eagland

Karyn says:  Louisa is an independent young woman who would like to become a doctor like her father.  She studies hard and learns quickly.  So why does she end up in an insane asylum?  Because she lives in Victorian England!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

STAFF PICKS--The Imperfectionists

Valerie's staff pick is The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman

Valerie says:  Rachman deftly applies his experience as foreign correspondent and editor to chart the goings-on at a scrappy English-language newspaper in Rome.  Chapters read like exquisite short stories, turning out the intersecting lives of the men and women who produce the paper--and one woman who reads it religiously, if belatedly.

Friday, September 2, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Wilow's pick:  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J. K. Rowling

Synopsis:
Harry Potter has never played a sport while flying on a broomstick.  He's never worn a cloak of invisibility, befriended a giant, or helped hatch a dragon.  All Harry knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley.  Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger:  a letter with an invitation to a wonderful place he never dreamed existed.  There he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic around every corner, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter.

Wilow says she likes the book "because it has magic!"