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


Friday, August 16, 2013

An Evening with Stephen King at The Bushnell

One of our staff members, Diana, recently had the excitement of seeing Stephen King for an author talk at The Bushnell in Hartford!

"He was so down to earth, he was funny, and of course a great story teller!  He told us one story about when he knew he made it big.  He was in a small restaurant, I forget where--NY maybe, having dinner with Bruce Springsteen.  A family came in and sat near them, celebrating something.  Their daughter, who was probably 15/16, kept sneaking glances at Stephen King and Bruce Springsteen.  Eventually she got up, and walked their way.  Bruce Springsteen started to reach into his pocket for his pen.  The girl never even looked his way.  She went right to Stephen King and politely asked for his autograph, totally ignoring Bruce Springsteen!  Just one of the many great stories he told that night."  --Diana

Stephen King's newest book is Joyland.  

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Oops, I read that already! (Setting up a Reading History)

Have you ever brought home a stack of books from the library only to find you've already read 2 or 3 of them?  If you set up a reading history on your library account, you'll be able to keep track of which books you've read.  It's easy...

Go to www.durhamlibrary.org

Click on My Account

Fill your last name and patron ID number (library card barcode, no spaces)

Click on Submit

Click on My Reading History

Click on Opt In

And you're finished!  Any items checked out on your account from the time you opt in will be recorded until you delete them or choose to opt out.

Friday, June 7, 2013

PATRON PICKS --THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE

Noel's pick is The House of Special Purpose, by John Boyne.

About the book:
Part love story, part historical epic, part tragedy, The House of Special Purpose illuminates an empire at the end of its reign.  Eighty-year-old Georgy Jachmenev is haunted by his past--a past of death, suffering, and scandal that will stay with him until the end of his days.  Living in England with his beloved wife, Zoya, Georgy prepares to make one final journey back to the Russia he once knew and loved, the Russia that both destroyed and defined him.  As Georgy remembers days gone by, we are transported to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace of the czar, in the early twentieth century--a time of change, threat, and bloody revolution. As Georgy overturns the most painful stone of all, we uncover the story of the house of special purpose.  (from Goodreads)

Noel says:  Flashbacks between an impoverished boy's coming of age in the Tsar's Winter Palace and his life/marriage in 1980's London.

PATRON PICKS -- ORDINARY GRACE

Noel's pick is Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger.

About the book:
New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961.  The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were at the ready at Halderson's Drug Store soda counter, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack.  It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president.  But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a summer in which death assumed many forms.

When tragedy unexpectedly comes to call on his family, which includes his Methodist minister father, his passionate, artistic mother, Juilliard-bound older sister, and wise-beyond-his-years kid brother, Frank finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal.  (from Goodreads)

Noel says:  Wonderful characters, excellent writing--twists & surprise ending.  Set in Minnesota, small town 1960's.


Saturday, May 18, 2013

PATRON PICKS -- MY KNEES WERE JUMPING (DVD)

Kassie's pick is My Knees Were Jumping:  Remembering the Kindertransport (DVD).  Directed by Melissa Hacker, narrated by Joanne Woodward.


About the movie:
During WWII, between 1938 and 1939, Allied forces launched a courageous rescue mission to save 10,000 children from certain death in the concentration camps.  These children were of Jewish or Gypsy descent or were otherwise marked as undesirable.  This documentary looks at what happened to these salvaged children.  To tell their often sad stories and chronicle the psychological effects of the traumatic events (although it was planned that the children would eventually be returned to their parents, over 90% never saw their parents again) the film uses interviews with survivors and rescuers, archival footage, and old photographs.  Though filmmaker Melissa Hacker keeps the focus on others, her own mother was one of the children saved from the camps.  (New York Times)

Kassie says:  A beautiful then and now, balancing the heroics of rescuing the children with the fact that less than 10% of parents survived.  Interviews with child survivors at a reunion. 





Friday, April 12, 2013

PATRON PICKS -- REACHED

Gina's pick is Reached, by Ally Condie

About the book:
Cassia's journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect facade of the Society.  After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter.

The wait is over.

One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most--family, love, choice.  Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion.

With exquisite prose, the emotionally gripping conclusion to the Matched trilogy returns Cassia, Ky, and Xander to the Society to save the one thing they have been denied for so long, the power to choose.

Gina says:  Great ending to the Matched series.  Thrilling!


Wednesday, March 27, 2013

STAFF PICKS -- THE SCIENCE OF SKINNY

Diana's staff pick is The Science of Skinny: Start Understanding Your Body's Chemistry--and Stop Dieting Forever, by Dee McCaffrey

About the book:
The Science of Skinny aims to educate and enlighten readers on the value of proper nutrition so that they can find a healthier and more life-affirming relationship with their bodies and the food they eat. Offering serial dieters a healthy and lifelong way to shed pounds--and keep them off-- The Science of Skinny includes: kick-start plans; guidelines for family and kid-friendly meals; quick and delicious menus and more than 50 recipes; shopping lists and eating-on-the-go tips; easy fitness routines; and more. (from Goodreads)

Diana says:  This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to know what to put in your mouth and what not to put there.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

PATRON PICKS -- CITY OF WOMEN

Louise's pick is City of Women, by David R. Gillham

About the book:

It is 1943—the height of the Second World War. With the men away at the front, Berlin has become a city of women.

On the surface, Sigrid Schröder is the model German soldier’s wife: She goes to work every day, does as much with her rations as she can, and dutifully cares for her meddling mother-in-law, all the while ignoring the horrific immoralities of the regime.

But behind this façade is an entirely different Sigrid, a woman of passion who dreams of her former Jewish lover, now lost in the chaos of the war. But Sigrid is not the only one with secrets—she soon finds herself caught between what is right and what is wrong, and what falls somewhere in the shadows between the two...

Louise says:  This novel was set in WWII era Berlin and focused on the experiences of women involved in hiding Jews from the Gestapo.  It was an extremely engrossing and thought-provoking read.  I loved it.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

STAFF PICKS -- A WALK ACROSS THE SUN

Diana's staff pick is A Walk Across the Sun, by Corban Addison

About the book:

When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless.  With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school.  They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade.

Halfway across the world, Washington DC attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis--and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers.  There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it.  Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals. (Goodreads)

Diana says:  This book was Gripping, Exciting, a Page Turner.  Once you start reading this book, you can't put it down until the end when you finally know what happens.  So scary and sad to think that the things that happen to the main characters are probably taking place right now across the globe.  Horrific, yet riveting story.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

STAFF PICKS -- ENCHANTED, BY ALETHEA KONTIS

Karyn's pick is Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis...

About the book:

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week.  Sunday's only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends.  Soon that friendship deepens into something magical.  One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown price of Arilland -- and a man Sunday's family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was.  But Sunday is not so easy to woo.  How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows?  And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past -- and hers?

Karyn says:  A magical blending of all your favorite fairy tales into one story.  Full of interesting characters and lush settings.  This award-winning novel will have you up late to finish it. (A Young Adult novel.)

Monday, March 4, 2013

PATRON PICKS -- SOME KIND OF PEACE

Corrie's pick is Some Kind of Peace, by Camilla Grebe & Asa Traff

About the book:
34-year-old psychotherapist Siri Bergman is terrified of the dark.  Living alone in a picturesque, but isolated area east of Stockholm, she has tried hard to convince herself that she has moved on since her husband Stefan, died in a diving accident several years ago.  But when she goes to bed, Siri leaves all the lights on, unable to shake the feeling that someone is watching her at night.

So when one night she wakes up to find that the house is pitch black, and the flashlight she keeps by her bed for back-up is not where she thought she'd left it, it seems that Siri's worst fears have been realized.

And when the lifeless body of Sara Matteus, one of her patients, is found floating in the water near Siri's house, events quickly spiral.  It is clear that Siri is in great danger, and she is thrown headlong into the center of a murder investigation which will put each of her closest friends under the spotlight.  With suspense building toward a dramatic conclusion, Siri is forced to relive her troubled past, and finally achieve some kind of peace.

Corrie says:  Very well-written storyline that I couldn't wait to read every night!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

STAFF PICKS -- Ru, by Kim Thuy

Valerie's pick is Ru, by Kim Thuy...

This autobiographical first novel is the story of a young Vietnamese refugee who flees with her family to Canada when she was a child.  Though told only in short vignettes, Thuy conveys a strong sense of time and place, with memorable characters and unsentimental emotional resonance.  Lyrical, mesmerizing, unique.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

PATRON PICKS -- SAFE HAVEN

Clare's pick is Safe Haven, by Nicholas Sparks.

About the book...
When a mysterious young woman, Katie, turns up in Southport, NC, her presence in the small town and determination to keep to herself raises questions.  But when events beyond her control force Katie to open up--and she begins to fall in love--she must come to grips with a dark secret from her past. (Publishers Weekly)

Clare says:  It was such a great book with strong characters and had an interesting, compelling storyline.  It's being made into a movie, but you should read the book first!

***The movie starts on Thursday, February 14th!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

STAFF PICKS--VIXEN

Gina's Staff Pick is Vixen (The Flappers #1), by Jillian Larkin.  A Young Adult book.

About the book:
Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.

Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they??

Gina says:  Cute fluff that's fun and sexy!