This Bo*k is a Ho*t
Prim readers are given fair warning to duck and cover! The title of Justin Halpern’s new book, Sh*t My Dad Says, well, it says it all. Justin’s dad says it over and over again, along with the F bomb in all its verb tenses, so you get the idea of this short, pungent and funny memoir. The book categorizes a lifetime of Sam Halpern’s comments into brief chapters illustrating how he handled episodes in his son’s life. Chapters like Justin’s … Continue reading
Staff Recommendation: Read One, Then The Other
I recently read two fascinating books which delve into the mysterious history of the Cape Ann settlement of Dogtown, now a part of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The books are Dogtown: death and enchantment in a New England ghost town by Elyssa East and The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant. Anita Diamant’s fictional account of the decline of this impoverished settlement in the early 1800′s uses historical characters in an imaginative and compelling way. Elyssa East approaches the history of the … Continue reading
More Staff Picks
Susan really liked Sarah’s Key by Tatiana deRosnay. She states that the book “chronicles the 1942 Jewish roundup in Paris, a tragedy revisted by an American journalist married to a Frenchman whose family is in complete denial and wants to leave the entire matter in the past…well worth the read.” Felicia loves Amy Bloom’s books, including her most recent, Where the God of Love Hangs Out. Felicia said these short stories did not disappoint her and that the characters were … Continue reading
Staff Picks
Here are some reading and listening ideas from a few of our staff members. Look for another posting soon with suggestions from other staff members at Bernardsville Library. Don’t hesitate to ask us about these books. Margaret enjoyed reading Dean Koontz’s, A Big Little Life, a book about the author’s first dog. A dog owner herself, Margaret can recommend other good books about good pets. Karen V. listened to an audiobook recording of The Piano Teacher by Janice Yee. She just loved it and … Continue reading
50 Book Challenge to the Rescue
What do you do when adversity “takes you down” – at least for a while? In the case of this blogger with a nicely broken wrist, there’s not much else to do but read, and so I have plunged single-handedly into Bernardsville Public Library’s 50 Book Challenge for 2010. As luck would have it, someone recommended a good book to me the very night before my accident, so when I returned from the E.R., I took up Immaculee Ilibagiza’s memoir, … Continue reading
Methland – A Sobering Look at "Heartland" America and Methamphetamine Addiction
As the subtitle states, Nick Reding’s new book Methland chronicles “The Death and Life of an American Small Town.” The town in question is Olewein, Iowa, where rural, small town life has been ravaged by methamphetamine addiction and the criminality that comes with it. Representative of many economically depressed Midwestern towns, Olewein found itself nearly destroyed by a combination of factors which contributed to a sudden tremendous surge in meth use. The author states that in the early 1990’s, local … Continue reading
Book Review: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers for a truly engrossing and enraging narrative of one man’s experiences during and following the 2005 flooding of New Orleans. What Hurricane Katrina (together with poor civil preparedness and bad levee engineering) did to the victims of this storm was horrifying enough. We all know that. But Zeitoun is an intensely gripping personal account of one victim who found himself innocently caught in the aftermath of the government’s nightmarish disaster response. You may be aghast to learn what happened to Abdulrahman … Continue reading
Review: New Short Stories By Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro, noted author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, recently released a selection of short stories entitled Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall. Nocturnes are evocative and light instrumental pieces often performed in the evening. In this new publication, nocturnes do seem to reflect the true nature of Ishiguro’s stories which are evocative yet also somewhat insubstantial. They linger awhile in your mind, but do not deeply resonate. Perhaps that is the author’s … Continue reading
A Perfect Place To Disappear
Lake of the Woods, the 950,400 acre lake which straddles the border between Minnesota and Canada, is not a locale where you want to get lost, but it is THE perfect place in which to disappear. With over 14,000 islands and extensive forests, this remote area could easily swallow up a lost person. It is also a great place to stage one’s disappearance if so desired. In addition, the massive lake affords a wonderful opportunity to dispose of a body … Continue reading
Go Ahead… Ask Us What We’re Reading
Looking for something new or interesting to read? Why not ask the staff at Bernardsville Public Library what we’ve been reading lately? We are always pleased to discuss our own books and more than happy to make suggestions for you based on your reading preferences. Just ask us. Ask Madelyn about Blink Ask Gerry about The White Lioness Ask Rosalie about The Unlikely Disciple Ask Anne about A Tiger’s Heart Ask Pat about Lethal Legacy Ask Michaele about The Indifferent … Continue reading
