Pinterest Interests
Bernardsville Library is on Pinterest @http://pinterest.com/bvplnj/ with many interesting boards for you to explore. Pinterest is an online, image-based way to share creative ideas and photos using a bulletin board format. Libraries use Pinterest as yet another way to enhance their Web presence and to promote themselves. Our bulletin boards cover topics such as Jersey Authors, Library Displays, Adult Programs, and school-required/suggested Summer Reading lists, to name just a few. We also feature some entertaining boards such as Edible Books! … Continue reading
Summer Reading: Literary Novels Served Up With Werewolves And Robots
Better stockpile some silver bullets and wolfsbane; this summer could get hairy! Supernatural fiction has elbowed its way to the forefront, but this year you’ll find an even greater intermixing of genres such as science fiction or occult with literary fiction according to The Wall Street Journal article of today entitled “The Season of the Supernatural.” Novelists are taking a stab at writing crossover books which bridge literary fiction with the popular genres of fantasy and the supernatural. Successful publications such … Continue reading
Madame X in Literature and X-Rays
As a follow-up to the Saturday Samplers book group discussion of Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X by Deborah Davis, here are a few points of interest that we learned. The original version of the painting, Portrait de Mme ***, which caused such a stir at the Paris Salon of 1884, was captured in only one black and white photograph, seen above. The pose of Madame Gautreau with her jeweled strap seductively slipping off her shoulder brought notoriety … Continue reading
Just For Fun
In keeping with the library’s “be creative” summer theme, I thought I’d share this creative senior film project by Bang-yao Liu, a student at Savannah College of Art and Design. He stuck colorful Post-it notes to a facsimile of his dorm wall, over and over, to make a stop-motion film entitled “Deadline.” Clever and fun. To see how he did it, watch the second film clip below, in which over 6,000 Post-its are put to good use over 4 days … Continue reading
Worried About Swine Flu? At Least It’s Not the Plague…
Get the latest information on the H1N1 flu virus (governmentese for swine flu) by going to pandemicflu.gov . Once you have calmed your nerves, experience real tears and feverish chills as you read about life during years of the plague in the following two books recommended by Evelyn Fischel of Bernardsville Public Library. Dava Sobel’s excellent biography of Galileo Galilei focuses on his relationship with his devoted, but cloistered daughter, Suor Maria Celeste – hence the title, Galileo’s Daughter. It … Continue reading
Earth, Trees and Thee
photo source: Bernardsville Public Library This is a busy week for ecological celebrations. Earth Day will spring up for it 39th anniversary on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two days later comes Arbor Day which was first organized in 1872 and is always held on the last Friday in April. What both these days need (besides water and sunshine) is an army of volunteers to tend to the landscape and care for the earth. Good thing National Volunteer Week is taking place … Continue reading
Click Away
“So, just what are those links on the sidebar of the Book News and More blog and where will they take me?” Well, they certainly will not take you to creepyville or spam territory or the dreaded crash zone. These links are here to provide you with great reading and reference resources. They will help you find such varied information as the ratings of popular movies or a list of books in a particular series. There’s even a link that … Continue reading
Doctor, Heal Thyself: An Addiction Memoir With A Happy Ending
Evelyn Fischel, staff member at Bernardsville Public Library, recently read this compelling nonfiction account of alcoholism and a promising drug treatment “cure.” Here is her review: Olivier Ameisen is a notable French cardiologist who practiced medicine and taught at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College. A talented pianist, Ameisen was urged by no less than Arthur Rubenstein to pursue music rather than medicine as his intended career. He was also the first and only student to pass the … Continue reading
How Do You Value Your Library?
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Today’s front page article in The Wall Street Journal, “Folks Are Flocking to the Library, A Cozy Place to Look for a Job,” is just one of many news articles reporting an up-tick in library usage during this deep economic downturn. The MSNBC video above further elaborates on the increasing number of people returning to their local libraries for services which will aid them in finding a job. … Continue reading
Spare the Burn
The EPA’s Web site offers a daily UV Index chart for the United States compiled from National Weather Service data. Here are today’s pretty colors! Take this link http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/uvindex.html to learn about the index and to get the UV forecast for the following three days as well. As you head to the beach, pool or lake, enjoy the sun’s rays, but take appropriate precautions. Also, don’t forget to take your summer reading with you, so read on to the next … Continue reading
