Afternoon Book Club

“Almost twenty-five years after the infamous art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—still the largest unsolved art theft in history—one of the stolen Degas paintings is delivered to the Boston studio of a young artist. Claire Roth has entered into a Faustian bargain with a powerful gallery owner by agreeing to forge the Degas in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But as she begins her work, she starts to suspect that this long-missing masterpiece—the very one that had been hanging at the Gardner for one hundred years—may itself be a forgery. The Art Forger is a thrilling novel about seeing—and not seeing—the secrets that lie beneath the canvas.” (from the publisher)

Join Readers’ Services librarian Lisa Jones when the Afternoon Book Club discusses  The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro on Tuesday, August 26,2014 at 1:30 PM in Meeting Room B/C on the Lower Level of the Library.

No registration required.

Copies of the book are currently available at the Main Floor Circulation Desk.

All are welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!

– posted by Sonia, Reference Services

5th Annual Adult Summer Reading Club Wrap-Up Party

Our Adult Summer Reading Club celebrated this year’s reading with a Wrap-up Party last night.  Author Sara Beth Durst was there and gave an entertaining and enlightening talk about her writing life and process.  Club members attending enjoyed refreshments as well.  Many members went home with prizes given away in the raffle.  Raffle tickets were earned for each book read and for attendance at  Summer Reading program events. A splendid time was had by all!

Here are some pictorial highlights:

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Here are some fun facts about the Adult Summer Reading Club :

• Number of Residents to join program in 2014: 120
• Number of Residents to join program in 2013: 140
• Number of Residents to join program in 2012: 106

 

• Number of Books Read in 2014: 1,001
• Number of Books Read in 2013: 816
• Number of Books Read in 2012: 830

The most popular books this summer were (in no particular order):

The One and Only by Emily Giffin

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Natchez Burning by Greg Iles

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

The Collector by Nora Roberts

Tempting Fate by Jane Green

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand

Unlucky 13 by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Terminal City by Linda Fairstein

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

Joshua: a Brooklyn Tale by Andrew Kane

Hope those of you who were members enjoyed the experience as we did and we hope to see you all back again for next year’s Adult Summer Reading Club.

– posted by Sonia, Reference Services

 

What We’re Reading Now

Here are a few books that some of our library staff are currently reading:

Karen, Library Director is reading

The Arsonist by Sue Miller 

A series of summer house fires exposes deep social faults in the hometown of Frankie Rowley, who makes unsettling discoveries about her aging parents while engaging in an affair with a local journalist.

Jean, Library Clerk is reading

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Separated by differing ambitions after falling in love in occupied Nigeria, beautiful Ifemelu experiences triumph and defeat in America, while Obinze endures an undocumented status in London until the pair is reunited in their homeland fifteen years later.

 

Audrey, Media Clerk is reading

The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob

Decades after an interrupted visit to his mother’s home in 1979 India triggers a haunting series of events, brain surgeon Thomas Eapen begins having conversations with his dead relatives, prompting his daughter to investigate a painful family history.

 

Neela, Head of Acquisitions is reading

Flight 232 : A Story of Disaster and Survival by Laurence Gonzales

Reconstructs the crash of United Airlines Flight 232, which hit the runway in a huge fireball after experiencing engine failure and loss of all flight controls and still had one hundred eighty-five survivors.

Sharon, Teen Services Librarian is reading

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

Determined to exact revenge against an evil faery who killed her mother, Aileana Kameron of mid-19th-century Edinburgh discovers her identity as the last in a line of female warriors who must stop increasingly powerful faeries from destroying humanity.

Ellen, Acquisitions Clerk is reading

Fat Vampire by Johnny B. Truant

When overweight treadmill salesman Reginald Baskin finally meets a co-worker who doesn’t make fun of him, it’s just his own bad luck that tech guy Maurice turns out to be a two thousand-year-old vampire. After having an imperfect eternity shoved into his grease-stained hands, Reginald must learn to turn the afterlife’s lemons into tasty lemon danishes.

All summaries from the publishers.

– posted by Sonia, Reference Services

Our Favorite Book Discussions

Recently, while thinking of which book I should choose to schedule for my next book discussion at the Syosset Public Library, I began to reminisce about the books that I have done in the past.  While I would say that I have enjoyed most of those discussions, there have been some that stand out for me.  Here are some of the books that inspired some great discussion experiences for myself and some of my fellow librarians. You might consider trying one for a meeting of your own.

My favorite book discussion was for The Lost Legends of New Jersey by Frederick Reiken. The reason was because of the extremes of the reaction to it. One patron walked in and immediately said in an angry tone – “who picked this book and why would you pick it” – she just didn’t relate to it at all. On the other hand, during the discussion someone was reduced to tears because she said the book was “such a gift to her”. I will never forget that discussion.

   –Lisa Caputo, Assistant Library Director

 My two favorite book discussions over the years (because I cannot choose just one) have been To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  I was so impressed with the insight and enthusiasm demonstrated by the attendees.  I was grateful to see that our members felt as passionately about these two novels as I do.  Whether they enjoyed the novels or not, our most vocal members all agreed on the importance of these novels in American Literature.

– Jackie Ranaldo, Head of Readers’ Services

I would have to say that my most memorable book discussion was Room by Emma Donoghue. The compelling subject matter really struck patrons emotionally. When I outlined the dimensions of the fictional 11 x 11 ft. “room” in masking tape in the center of our book discussion circle, the entire room went silent.  We continued to stare at this small space as we tried to imagine a young woman and her son spending 7 years of their life confined to this “room” with no outside contact.

–Lisa Jones, Readers’ Services Librarian

I think my favorite discussion that I’ve led so far would be The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. I enjoyed leading the discussion with Jackie because it was a discussable book, it made you wonder if this could happen in the future and the research that I found for the book was quite interesting. There are actually some real life spiritual/religious groups based on the religion Octavia Butler created in the book.

–Stacey Levine, Readers’ Services Librarian

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was the book that generated my favorite and best discussion.  The fact that I had never read it before was in large part responsible for this.  I was expecting something worthwhile but dull.  To my amazement, I found it to be thoroughly compelling and was eager to talk about it.  We had a big turnout for the meeting as well as an interesting and lively discussion. I do not remember anyone having anything but good things to say about this classic novel.

-Sonia Grgas, Reference Librarian

This article first appeared in the April 2014 issue of Syosset Public Library’s newsletter, Book Club Insider.

– posted by Sonia, Reference Services

 

 

20 & 30 Something Title Swap

Please join us as we discuss our favorite books! You tell us your favorites, we’ll tell you ours. Together we’ll compile a list and you’ll have great titles to read throughout the Summer!

Monday, July 14th at 7PM

Meeting Room A on the Lower Level

With 20 & 30-Something Librarians,

Jessikah Chautin and Stacey Levine

This program is open to any 20-something/30-something looking for a great book discussion group. No registration is required and the program is free. Non-Syosset residents are welcome. Please call 516-921-7161 x 239 for details. Hope to see you there!

Check out our Facebook page for upcoming events and great suggestions for your next read.

 

– posted by Stacey, Readers’ Services

 

World War I Centennial

“One day the great European War will come out

of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.”

– Otto von Bismarck

In 1914 the world looked much different than it does today. Austria-Hungary covered most of central Europe. In fact, it covered land that now makes up 13 countries. But all was not peaceful.

In fact, the Bosnian Serbs in particular were restive under the rule of the Hapsbugs, rulers of  Austria-Hungary.  Many of them wanted to form a greater Serbia by uniting with their brothers across the Drina River in Serbia proper.  On June 28 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were visiting Sarajevo. A group called the Black Hand had determined to kill them. Several attempts failed but a young man named Gavrilo Princep rushed the car they were riding in and shot them both at close range. This event provided the spark that started the war but there were many factors at play: the desire for empire and wealth, a series of treaties and alliances that assured that when one power went to war its allies would follow, miscalculations by rulers and generals.

On July 28 Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia responded by mobilizing the following day. Germany declared war on Russia on August 3. When Germany marched through Belgium on its way to France, Great Britain declared war on Germany.

World War I consumed all the great powers of Europe and extended into Asia and Africa. The warring nations Austria and Germany (known as the Central Powers) were aligned against the Allies made up of Serbia, Russia, France, Belgium and Great Britain. Eventually, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and Italy, Romania, Greece and the United States (the U.S. declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917) joined the Allies.

More than 65 million men were mobilized. The war saw the use of new technology such as airplanes, tanks, fast firing artillery and submarines. But perhaps the lasting image is of trench warfare and the feared chlorine gas (first used by the Germans at the battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915).

It is estimated that up to 10 million men lost their lives on the battlefield and another 20 million were wounded. It also was the death of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires. The war was the catalyst for the Russian Revolution.

There are many interesting  books about the war and the peace that followed. Many of these can be found at the “World War I” display table on the first floor of the library during the month of July.

Online there are informative sources of information. Try the PBS site  featuring maps, commentary by historians and audio recordings by combatants and noncombatants. A companion book to this PBS special is available in our oversize collection, The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century,  written by Jay Winter and Blaine Baggett.

 And the BBC  does a fine job of covering the background, history and results of the war. Their interactive map of the Western Front is especially interesting.  For a study of the American involvement see the Doughboy Center which is part of the Internet History of the Great War:  Trenches on the Web.

Please join Syosset  librarians on July 8 for a discussion of the classic novel about the war, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

– posted by Brenda, Reference Services

Evening Book Club – WW I Centennial Edition

“Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other–if only he can come out of the war alive.”

Join librarians Brenda Cherry and Ralph Guiteau when the Evening Book Club discusses  All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque on Tuesday, July 8 at 7:30 PM in Meeting Room B/C on the Lower Level of the Library. No registration required. Copies of the book are currently available at the Main Floor Circulation Desk.

All are welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!

– posted by Sonia, Reference Services

Read to Children Beginning at Birth

The American Academy of Pediatrics will announce a new policy directing doctors to tell parents to read aloud to their infants from birth.

Per the New York Times, “With the increased recognition that an important part of brain development occurs within the first three years of a child’s life, and that reading to children enhances vocabulary and other important communication skills, the group, which represents 62,000 pediatricians across the country, is asking its members to become powerful advocates for reading aloud, every time a baby visits the doctor.”

Reading, talking and singing are all considered important in increasing the number of words children hear and know at the earliest ages, creating distinct advantages when they begin school.

This should be reason enough to visit your local library.

Click here for the entire New York Times article.

– posted by Ed, Reference Services