Afternoon Book Club

The Afternoon Book Club will meet on

Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 1:30 PM

to discuss The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

by Rachel Joyce

with Lisa Caputo, Assistant Library Director

“Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast. Little differentiates one day from the next. Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack there is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years. Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.  A novel of unsentimental charm, humor, and profound insight into the thoughts and feelings we all bury deep within our hearts.” (from the publisher)

This program is free and refreshments will be served.

The book is currently available at the circulation desk.

Hope to see you there!

- posted by Sonia, Readers’ Services

Celebrating Agatha Christie

Throughout the month of March, the Readers’ Services Department will be celebrating the Queen of Crime, classic mystery author, Agatha Christie (1890-1976). The following events will be held in her honor:

_____________________________________________________________

ON THE CASE: CHRISTIE MYSTERIES

with David Houston. Friday, March 8, 2013

2 PM

Three actors perform David Houston’s radio play, with music accompaniment and sound effects, from classic short stories by the all-time mistress of suspense and surprise – including a fully staged scene drawn from numerous Agatha Christie sources.

EVENING BOOK DISCUSSION

Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7:30 PM

Discussion of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery And Then There Were None with Sonia Grgas, Readers’ Services Librarian.

BOOK TO FILM

Friday, March 15, 2013 2 PM

Showing of the 1945 version of the film And Then There Were None starring Barry Fitzgerald, Walter Huston & Louis Hayward. A short discussion will follow the film.

No registration required. Free.

 Dedicated collections honoring Agatha Christie will be on display throughout the building.

- posted by Jackie, Readers’ Services

Afternoon Book Club

The Afternoon Book Club will meet on

February 26, 2013 at 1:30 PM

to discuss The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.

Mr. Harbach tells an interesting story about a baseball star at a small college near Lake Michigan who launches a routine throw that goes disastrously off course and inadvertently changes the lives of five people, including the college president, a gay teammate, and the president’s daughter.

Please join Evelyn Hershkowitz, Readers’ Services Librarian in Room B/C.

This program is free and refreshments will be served.

The book is currently available at the circulation desk.

Hope to see you there!

- posted by Evelyn, Readers’ Services

Author Visit: Ellen Feldman

Friday, February 8 at 2 PM

in the Theater

Long Island/NYC author Ellen Feldman will be visiting the library for a book signing and discussion of her latest historical fiction novel, Next to Love (our January Afternoon Book Club selection).

Ellen Feldman is a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow and author of such titles as The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, Lucy, Scottsboro and Next to Love.  Ms. Feldman also spends time as a book reviewer, as well as a lecturer, both nationally and internationally.  She currently at work on her next novel, The Unwitting.

Next to Love received ***Starred Reviews*** from both Booklist and Library Journal:

From Booklist: “The quiet devastation wrought by WWII on the lives of ordinary Americans forms the backbone of this haunting and profoundly moving novel that interweaves the stories of three small-town women …”

From Library Journal: “…A lustrous evocation of a stormy period in our past; highly recommended for lovers of World War II fiction …”

Copies of the book will be sold by

the Friends of the Library at the event.

For more information about Ellen Feldman,

visit the author’s official website.

Please be sure to also join us for our Afternoon Book Club on Tuesday, January 29 at 1:30 PM for a discussion of Next to Love by Ellen Feldman.  The discussion will be led by Jackie Ranaldo, Head of Readers’ Services.  All are welcome.  Please note: the author will not be present at the Book Club meeting.

- posted by Jackie, Readers’ Services

Author Visit: Hilma Wolitzer

Long Island/NYC author Hilma Wolitzer will join us for a book signing, as well as to discuss the writing of her latest novel, An Available Man (our December “He Said, She Said” Book Discussion selection),  on Friday, December 21 at 2 PM in the Theater.

Hilma Wolitzer is the author of 14 books.  Ms. Wolitzer has taught multiple creative writing programs and has received honors and fellowships from such groups as the Guggenheim Foundation, NEA, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

An Available Man received ***Starred Reviews*** from Booklist.

From Booklist: “…Wolitzer has written before of the pain of losing a partner and its aftermath, and she does it with remarkable insight, grace, and humor … A warm, keenly incisive view of life’s vicissitudes by a writer too seldom heard from.”

Copies of the book will be sold by the Friends of the Library at the event.

For more information about Hilma Wolitzer, visit the author’s official website and blog.

- posted by Jackie, Readers’ Services

He Said, She Said Book Discussion

Please join us as we celebrate a year of great books and great discussions at our annual “He Said, She Said” Book Discussion.  Adult Services Librarians Ed Goldberg, Sonia Grgas, Ralph Guiteau and Lisa Jones will be discussing the book An Available Man by Hilma Wolitzer on Tuesday, December 18th at 7:30 PM.

“When Edward Schuyler, a modest and bookish sixty-two-year-old science teacher, is widowed, he finds himself ambushed by female attention.  There are plenty of unattached women around, but a healthy, handsome, available man is a rare and desirable creature.  Gradually, reluctantly, he begins dating and his encounters are variously startling, comical and sad.  Just when Edward thinks he has the game figured out, a chance meeting proves that love always arrives when it’s least expected.”

Author, Hilma Wolitzer, will be joining us to discuss her latest novel An Available Man on Friday, December 21, 2012 at 2 PM. Copies of the book will be sold by the Friends of the Library at the event. Both programs are free and all are welcome.

- posted by Lisa J., Readers’ Services

Author Visit: Catherine Chung

Debut author, Catherine Chung will join us to discuss and sign her highly praised novel, Forgotten Country (our November 2012 Afternoon Book Club Selection) on Friday, December 7 at 2 PM in Syosset Public Library’s Theater.

Forgotten Country received ***Starred Reviews*** from Booklist, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.

From Booklist: “…This elegantly written, stunningly powerful, simply masterful first novel should earn Chung many fans, especially among those who enjoy Amy Tan, Eugenia Kim, Lisa See, and Chang-Rae Lee.”

From Publishers Weekly: “…Beautiful debut novel …Woven with tender reflections, sharp renderings of isolation, and beautiful prose, the story traces Janie’s and Hannah’s Midwestern upbringing.”

From Kirkus: “A young woman struggles to understand her sometimes-competing roles as daughter, sister, scholar and Korean American in Chung’s darkly luminous debut…”

Copies of the book will be sold by the Friends of the Library at the event.   For more information on Catherine Chung, visit the author’s official website.  Or connect with the author on her Facebook or Twitter page.

-posted by Jackie, Readers’ Services

Book Expo America 2012

Last month I had the distinct pleasure of attending my very first Book Expo America.  Held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, Book Expo America is the largest book industry event in North America and one of the largest gatherings of English language publishers in the world.  It was an impressive event to say the least.  For three days in June, more than 1,000 vendors including such notable publishing houses as Random House, Penguin, Harper Collins & Macmillan invaded 3 levels of more than 760,000 sq. ft. of convention floor space. Those naysayers who believe the printed book is in danger of becoming obsolete should have witnessed the throngs of eager attendees patiently waiting in line to receive free autographed copies of books by such authors as Ian McEwan, Janice Maynard, Alan Furst, Junot Diaz, Amor Towles, Chris Bohjalian and Brenda Jackson just to name a few. As much as I love my e-reader, to my knowledge you can’t get an e-book signed by your favorite author (although, I am sure someone will create an App for that…hmmm).

The highlight of my visit to Book Expo America was listening to one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver (“The Poisonwood Bible”, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”), announce the 2012 winner of the Pen/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Established in 2000 by Barbara Kingsolver, the Bellwether Prize was created to promote fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relations. A $25,000 prize and a two year publishing contract with Algonquin Books are awarded biennially to an author for a previously unpublished novel.  Ms. Kingsolver chose the amount of $25,000 because that was the amount of her first book advance which allowed her to quit her day job and concentrate fulltime on writing. Past winners include Hillary Jordan (2006 winner for Mudbound) and Heidi Durrow (2008 winner for The Girl Who Fell From the Sky).  As an added bonus, both Hillary Jordan and Heidi Durrow spoke as well.  This year’s recipient of the Penn/Bellwether Prize is Susan Nussbaum for her manuscript Good Kings, Bad Kings which will be published in the spring of 2013.

As the day came to a close, I gathered my rolling suitcase filled with a treasure trove of books of all shapes, sizes and genres and started my journey back to Penn Station.  I thoroughly enjoyed Book Expo America 2012 with one exception: I could have used a bigger suitcase.

- posted by Lisa J., Readers’ Services