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, December 15, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Holiday Favorites

Happy Holidays!  Do you have a favorite Holiday book that you read every year?  Or a favorite Holiday movie that you watch over and over again?  

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite stories and I love the movie version, too (the one with George C. Scott).  Other movies I watch over and over are A Christmas Story (a family favorite!), The Bishop's Wife (Cary Grant & Loretta Young), and The Homecoming (the movie that inspired the popular series, The Waltons).

How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Polar Express are big favorites with our patrons.  Here are some other Patron Picks...


Kate
Favorite Holiday Book:  The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming
Favorite Holiday DVD:  Christmas in Connecticut




Eileen
Favorite Holiday Book:  The Night Before Christmas
Favorite Holiday DVD:  It's a Wonderful Life

Philip
Favorite Holiday Book:  The Nutcracker

Caitie
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Grinch

Kate
Favorite Holiday Book:  A Christmas Carol
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Nightmare Before Christmas

Leslie
Favorite Holiday Book:  Hanukkah Cat


Mirelle
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Muppets Christmas Carol

Lori
Favorite Holiday Book:  How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Favorite Holiday DVD:  It's a Wonderful Life

Olivia
Favorite Holiday DVD:  A Charlie Brown Christmas

Diana
Favorite Holiday Book:  Santa Mouse
Favorite Holiday DVD:  Santa Clause is Coming to Town


Jean
Favorite Holiday Book:  How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Favorite Holiday DVD:  Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas



Marisa
Favorite Holiday Book:  The Polar Express
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Polar Express

Miranda
Favorite Holiday Book:  The Christmas Robin

Kevin
Favorite Holiday Book:  How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Polar Express



Marge
Favorite Holiday Book:  The Shop Around the Corner
Favorite Holiday DVD:  A Christmas Story

Cheryl
Favorite Holiday Book: Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins


Aidan
Favorite Holiday Book:  How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Polar Express

Taryn
Favorite Holiday Book:  Llama Llama Holiday Drama

Alice
Favorite Holiday Book:  Olive, the Other Reindeer
Favorite Holiday DVD:  The Muppets Christmas Carol



"May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility." 
--Mary Anne Radmacher

Enjoy all your holiday favorites this season!
--Patti




Wednesday, December 14, 2011

STAFF PICKS--The Routes of Man: Travels in the Paved World

Valerie's Pick:  The Routes of Man:  Travels in the Paved World, by Ted Conover

Conover reveals the highway as common social territory, particularly as the meeting place between men and women.  His travels take him from Peru's illegal jungle logging camps, to the Himalayan frontier of Kashmir and through Israeli checkpoints in Palestine's West Bank.  His writing is so evocative that the reader definitely has a "you are there experience."

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

AUTHOR PICKS--Holiday/Winter Favorites

What books do authors enjoy reading during the holidays/winter?  Here's what they said...

  ***************************************

Lauren Willig, author of the The Orchid Affair (Pink Carnation series) 

Holiday books....  I'd say mine are Little Women, Debbie Macomber's Angel books (The Trouble With Angels, etc.),  Elizabeth Young's Fair Game (A Promising Man and About Time, Too in the US), Jo Beverly's Winter Fire, and an old, old holiday anthology called A Holiday of Love, featuring Judith McNaught and Jude Deveraux (old school romance!). Sometimes Judith McNaught's Paradise, too.



Kristan Higgins, author of Until There Was You

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. I read it every year and watch two movie versions.

The Christmas Bear, by Henrietta and Paul Stickland. The illustrations are so charming…exactly what you'd imagine Santa's house should look like.

The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. Spare, mysterious and utterly magical. Still can't read the last line without crying, even after all these years.


Leslie Bulion, author of At The Sea Floor Cafe

My favorite Hanukkah picture book is Hanukkah Cat, by Chaya M. Burstein.  It combines a lovely retelling of the Hanukkah story with a more contemporary story of how a boy who tries to help a stray cat brings about his own Hanukkah miracle. 

My favorite winter picture book is Paperwhite, written and illustrated by Connecticut's own Nancy Elizabeth Wallace.  It is the story of good neighbors who spend time together bringing a bit of spring into their winter days.

My favorite Christmas story is How the Grinch Stole Christmas--no explanation necessary!  Who doesn't love Cindy Lou Who?


David Macinnis Gill, author of Black Hole Sun


How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss



Mary E. Pearson, author of The Fox Inheritance (The Jenna Fox Chronicles)

Oh, so many but one I really love is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson.  
In fact, I think it's time for me to reread this one again . . .



STAFF PICKS--The Cold Blue Blood

Cyndi’s pickThe Cold Blue Blood, by David Handler 

A Connecticut author, Handler has set his Mitch Berger and Desiree Mitry Mystery in the fictional village of Dorset, CT. Look for local landmarks such as Devil’s Hopyard and “The Purple Pup Saloon”. You’ll love the characters of Dorset, well, some of them. One of them has committed murder and hopes to get away with it.  There are presently eight books in the series.

Monday, December 5, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Beautiful Creatures

Victoria's pick:  Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Victoria says:  Very suspenseful.  A different, but good book.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Tattoos on the Heart

Kassie's pick:  Tattoos on the Heart:  The Power of Boundless Compassion, by Gregory Boyle

Synopsis:
Father Gregory Boyle's sparkling parables about kinship and the sacredness of life are drawn from twenty years working with gangs in LA.

Kassie says:  Why read a book about gangs in LA?  Because it also is about joy.  And hope (and I laughed out loud).  Just check it out!

Friday, December 2, 2011

STAFF PICKS-- The Art of Racing in the Rain

Diana's Pick:  The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

Synopsis:
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

Diana says:  This book has a very interesting concept, told from a dog's point of view.  If you have a dog, you will love it and probably never look at your dog the same way again.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

STAFF PICKS: To a Mountain in Tibet

Valerie's pick:  To a Mountain in Tibet, by Colin Thubron

Thubron sets off to Mount Kailas in Tibet, a peak sacred to one-fifth of the world's population and the source of four of India's great rivers.  Though Kailas has never been climbed, Thubron embarks on a pilgrimage that begins in Nepal and crosses into Tibet.  This an engrossing and affecting travel memoir that transcends the mere physical journey, an utterly moving read.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

DPL BookTalk Chats with David Macinnis Gill... in NC!

When I was in North Carolina recently, I had an opportunity to talk with YA author David Macinnis Gill:
BOOKS
DPL:  Invisible Sun is the companion book to Black Hole Sun, due out in March 2012.  Would you tell us a little about the story?
DMG:  In Black Hole Sun, Durango saved the world.  Okay, maybe not by himself--he had help from Mimi, his nano-implant with a biting wit, Vienne, his second-in-command, whom he also happens to be hopelessly in love with, and a ragtag crew of misfits.  Still, you'd think he deserves a break.  But a mercenary's work is never done.  He's on a new mission, one that will infuriate just about everyone.  One that will put everyone he cares about in unspeakable danger.  Cinematic action, rapid-fire dialogue, a futuristic setting on a terraformed Mars, and a tragic romance--Invisible Sun is an unstoppable adrenaline rush!
DPL:  I love the new cover for the paperback version of Black Hole Sun!  Do you have much say in what the covers look like?
DMG:  Only if exclaiming, "I love it," is having a say!  The design team at Greenwillow, my publisher, is among the best in the business, so I trust their judgment in cover art, book design, etc.  There are so many factors that go into a dust jacket--marketing, color scheme, sales, and eye appeal--that I find it best to let the folks who know the business do what they do.  I can't even begin to give them advice.
RECOMMENDATIONS

DPL:  What books have you read recently that you'd like to recommend?
DMG:  I have three:
SHINE by Lauren Myracle.  On the surface, this is a story set in the mountains of North Carolina, about the horrific assault of a young gay man, who is beaten and left to die at a service station with a gas nozzle in his mouth.  When the authorities react with ambivalence, his estranged friend decides to search for the attacker herself.  What she finds, though, more about her community and herself than she anticipated.  Gripping, saddening, infuriating, and ultimately, uplifting, this book is still with me months after I read it.
THE PULL OF GRAVITY by Gae Polisner.  Branded with the kiss o'death misnomer of "quiet book," The Pull of Gravity is the under-appreciated story of Nick and Jaycee, who use a combination of Yoda and Of Mice and Men as spiritual guides on a cross-country trip to keep a promise to a dying friend.  Where TPG shines for me is the pitch-perfect voice of the narrator, Nick, a guy with attitude and grit but with enough personality to keep you reading.
FURY OF THE PHOENIX by Cindy Pon.  In this sequel to Silver Phoenix, one of the top ten fantasy novels for youth by Booklist, we revisit the kick-butt sorceress/foodie Ai Ling, who must fight the evil Zhong Ye to save the man she loves.  Full of action, drama, myth, love, and yes, food, this is one of my all time favorite sequels, which is every bit as good as--and maybe better--than the first book.
TRADITIONS

DPL:  Do you have a favorite holiday tradition?
DMG:  Does sneaking under the tree and surreptitiously unwrapping my presents, peeking at what's inside, and then re-taping the wrapping paper count as a tradition?  If not, then my favorite is stuffing my kids' stockings late on Christmas Eve.  This will be our twenty-second year in a row, and it never gets old.

DPL:  Thanks, David!
DMG:  No, thank you!

--Patti

STAFF PICKS: Diamond Ruby

Christine's Pick:  Diamond Ruby, by Joseph Wallace

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Ruby Thomas, newly responsible for her two young nieces after a devastating tragedy, is determined to keep her family safe in the vast, swirling world of 1920s New York City. She’s got street smarts, boundless determination, and one unusual skill: the ability to throw a ball as hard as the greatest pitchers in a baseball-mad city.From Coney Island sideshows to the brand-new Yankee Stadium, Diamond Ruby chronicles the extraordinary life and times of a girl who rises from utter poverty to the kind of renown only the Roaring Twenties can bestow. But her fame comes with a price, and Ruby must escape a deadly web of conspiracy and threats from Prohibition rumrunners, the Ku Klux Klan, and the gangster underworld. Diamond Ruby “is the exciting tale of a forgotten piece of baseball’s heritage, a girl who could throw with the best of them. A real page-turner, based closely on a true story” (Kevin Baker, author of Strivers Row).
 
Christine says:  1920's New York atmosphere, engaging heroine.
 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Runaway Twin

Mykaela's pick:  Runaway Twin, by Peg Kehret

Synopsis:
A unique story of separated twins and the unexpected consequences of their reunion.

Sunny Skyland longs to be reunited with her twin sister, Starr. With only an old photograph, taken a few days before the girls were separated at age three, to guide her, Sunny begins the cross-country journey that she has dreamed of during her ten years in various foster homes. Sunny manages to locate her twin, only to be faced with a whole new challenge.

Award-winning author Peg Kehret combines suspense and action with reflections on the true meaning of family as Sunny learns that sometimes we must let go of our dreams in order to embrace a different, better future.


Mykaela says:  Runaway Twin is a sequel  to Stolen Children.  It's a mystery that I couldn't put down.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Stolen Children

Mykaela's pick:  Stolen Children, by Peg Kehret

Synopsis:
Amy learned a lot in her babysitting course, but not what to do if two thugs show up, intent on kidnapping. Armed with misinformation and a weapon, the men take Amy and little Kendra to a remote cabin in the woods. There they make videos of the girls and mail them to Kendra’s wealthy parents in an effort to get ransom money. After several of her escape attempts fail, Amy is forced to make one last, desperate move. Award winner Peg Kehret crafts a suspenseful thriller with a spunky heroine who uses her wits to save herself and the toddler.

Mykaela says:  It's a mystery that always has you wanting to read more.  Best book I ever read.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Double Identity

Tati's pick:  Double Identity, by Margaret Peterson Haddix


Synopsis:
For months, 12-year-old Bethany Cole has been anxiously watching the changes in her parents. Her mother seems to be weeping constantly, and her father is reluctant to let her out of his sight for even a minute. Then, just before her birthday, Bethany is whisked to an aunt's house and seemingly abandoned. Worried and confused, she searches for an explanation, but when the package arrives from her father, the mystery only intensifies. Spine-tinglingly real.

Tati says:  Eccentric, exciting and suspenseful!

Friday, October 28, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Recommend a favorite book or DVD!

We'd love to hear about your favorite books and DVDs!  You can use the comment box below, or stop by the library and fill out one of our Patron Picks forms. 


Please include the name of the book or DVD, author (for books), why you liked it, and your first name.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

PATRON PICKS (DVD)--In the Bedroom

Jacquelene's DVD pick:  In the Bedroom (2001)



Jacquelene says:  Excellent story, acting.  Speaks to the issues of what is a fitting sentence for certain crimes in our justice system today.

PATRON PICKS (DVD)-- The Indian Runner

Jacquelene's DVD pick:  The Indian Runner (1991)



Jacquelene says:  Excellent story line.  Good brother vs. bad brother and how each of their lives reflects the choices they make.

PATRON PICKS (DVD)-- Into the Wild

Jacquelene's DVD pick:  Into the Wild (2007)

Jacquelene says:
Exploratory film relating the story of a young man from a life of comfort and his quest to determine what life without money and status has to offer, and what he finds out in his travels.

Excellent DVD for those 12 and older but has a sad ending.  Outstanding photography and interesting characters throughout the story.

PATRON PICKS-- The Moonlit Cage

Sue's pick:  The Moonlit Cage, by Linda Holeman


Synopsis:
Daryâ’s simple life in mid-nineteenth-century Afghanistan is torn apart when a hateful curse by a jealous tribeswoman leaves her an outcast in her small Muslim village. She looks to her arranged marriage to the son of a nomadic tribal chief with hope that it will deliver her from this oppression; instead, Daryâ finds herself regularly beaten by her wrathful husband, and more isolated than she can bear. Seeing no choice other than to flee from her torment, Daryâ barely escapes through the foothills of the Hindu Kush.

Destitute and alone, Daryâ meets David Ingram, an enigmatic Englishman traveling in Afghanistan. Although he is a complete stranger, she joins him on his journey to Bombay—and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Ranging from the arid Afghan plains to the lush tropical villas of India, across mighty seas to Victorian London’s fetid streets, The Moonlit Cage is an intense and sensuous story of love, loss, and redemption.

Sue says:  I highly recommend it!

PATRON PICKS--James D. Doss' Mysteries

Mercedes' pick:  James D. Doss' Mysteries


Synopsis of A Dead Man's Tale:
At seven feet tall, Colorado rancher and Ute tribal investigator Charlie Moon is a larger-than-life figure—and a force to be reckoned with, on and off the reservation…

Hard times have come to Colorado, and Moon’s ranch is feeling the pinch. Not so for Samuel Reed. He seems to have a special intuition when it comes to picking stocks, and claims to be able to remember the future, which gives him quite a leg up on Wall Street. So Reed is quite confident when he makes a wager with Moon’s best friend, Granite Creek Chief of Police Scott Parris, that Parris can’t keep him alive.

Even when Reed doesn’t offer any details beyond the date and time of his impending demise, Moon has a sixth sense that everything will turn out just fine…until not one, but two men end up left for dead. Now it’s up to Moon—along with the help of his Aunt Daisy, an aged Ute shaman who can communicate with the spirit world—to solve the case. Or die trying…

Mercedes says:  The main character is very likeable and the plots are interesting.  Reminds me of Tony Hillerman's western mysteries. 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

PATRON PICKS: Troublemaker

Tati's pick:  Troublemaker, by Andrew Clements

Synopsis:
There’s a folder in Principal Kelling’s office that’s as thick as a phonebook and it’s growing daily. It’s filled with the incident reports of every time Clayton Hensley broke the rules. There’s the minor stuff like running in the hallways and not being where he was suppose to be when he was supposed to be there. But then there are also reports that show Clay’s own brand of troublemaking, like the most recent addition: the art teacher has said that the class should spend the period drawing anything they want and Clay decides to be extra “creative” and draw a spot-on portrait of Principal Kellings…as a donkey.
It’s a pretty funny joke, but really, Clay is coming to realize that the biggest joke of all may be on him. When his big brother, Mitchell, gets in some serious trouble, Clay decides to change his own mischief making ways…but he can’t seem to shake his reputation as a troublemaker.
From the master of the school story comes a book about the fine line between good-humored mischief and dangerous behavior and how everyday choices can close or open doors.

Tati says:  A daring story about a boy who's brother goes to jail.  He is usually a troublemaker.

PATRON PICKS--Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Clare's pick:  Seabiscuit:  An American Legend, by Laura Hillenbrand
Synopsis:
He was a cultural icon. A world-class athlete. A champion who triumphed over terrible handicaps to become a legend of the racetrack. No other racehorse has rivaled Seabiscuit's fame or his sway over the nation's imagination. Now Laura Hillenbrand unfolds the spellbinding story of this marvelous animal, the world he lived in, and the men who staked their lives and fortunes on his dazzling career. A riveting tale of grit, grace, luck, and an underdog's stubborn determination, Seabiscuit is an American classic.

Clare says:  It has a detailed, engaging storyline that is fantastically written.  A stand-out, stand-alone novel.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Stolen Children

Charlotte's pick:  Stolen Children, by Peg Kehret

Synopsis:
Amy learned a lot in her babysitting course, but not what to do if two thugs show up, intent on kidnapping. Armed with misinformation and a weapon, the men take Amy and little Kendra to a remote cabin in the woods. There they make videos of the girls and mail them to Kendra’s wealthy parents in an effort to get ransom money. After several of her escape attempts fail, Amy is forced to make one last, desperate move. Award winner Peg Kehret crafts a suspenseful thriller with a spunky heroine who uses her wits to save herself and the toddler.

Charlotte says:  It was very suspenseful and creepy.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

PATRON PICKS--The Affair

Bruce's pick:  The Affair, by Lee Child

Synopsis:
Everything starts somewhere. . . .

For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.

A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington.

Reacher is ordered undercoverto find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control.

Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justiceand an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

A novel of unrelenting suspense that could only come from the pen of #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child, The Affair is the start of the Reacher saga, a thriller that takes Reacher—and his readers—right to the edge . . . and beyond.

Bruce says:  For readers of Lee Child's Jack Reacher character, this is the book that tells how Jack begins his many adventures.  Typical Child excitement.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

PATRON PICKS--Rufus M.

Tati's Pick:  Rufus M., by Eleanor Estes

Synopsis:
You've never met anyone quite like Rufus Moffat. He gets things done, but he gets them done his way.

When he wants to check out library books, Rufus teaches himself to write...even though he doesn't yet know how to read. When food is scarce, he plants some special "Rufus beans" that actually grow...despite his digging them up every day to check on them. And Rufus has friends that other people don't even know exist! He discovers the only invisible piano player in town, has his own personal flying horse for a day, and tours town with the Cardboard Boy, his dearest friend-and enemy.  Rufus isn't just the youngest Moffat, he's also the cleverest, the funniest, and the most unforgettable.

Eleanor Estes's beloved Moffats stories are being published in new editions as Odyssey/Harcourt Young Classics. The original interior illustrations have been retained, but handsome new cover art by Tricia Tusa gives the books a fresh, timeless appeal for today's readers.

Tati says:  A captivating story about a young boy who is always determined to get what he wants.

New Romance Paperbacks at DPL




Love romance?  Then, stop by the library and check out our new romance paperbacks!