Book of the Week (11/12/2018)

How to Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in 13 Animals by Sy Montgomery (Boston, Mass. : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018).

Granite State author, Sy Montgomery's latest book comes in the form of a memoir intertwining her story with the animals in her life that have had the most impact.

"National Book Award finalist Sy Montgomery reflects on the personalities and quirks of 13 animals—her friends—who have profoundly affected her in this stunning, poetic, and life-affirming memoir featuring illustrations by Rebecca Green.
Understanding someone who belongs to another species can be transformative. No one knows this better than author, naturalist, and adventurer Sy Montgomery. To research her books, Sy has traveled the world and encountered some of the planet’s rarest and most beautiful animals. From tarantulas to tigers, Sy’s life continually intersects with and is informed by the creatures she meets.
This restorative memoir reflects on the personalities and quirks of thirteen animals—Sy’s friends—and the truths revealed by their grace. It also explores vast themes: the otherness and sameness of people and animals; the various ways we learn to love and become empathetic; how we find our passion; how we create our families; coping with loss and despair; gratitude; forgiveness; and most of all, how to be a good creature in the world." --Author's website

Join Sy at the following locations throughout New Hampshire where she will be discussing her newest book!

Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 6:30pm at Toadstool Books in Milford, NH

Monday, November 19, 2018 at 5:30pm at Gibson's Bookstore in Concord, NH

Saturday, December 8, 2018 from 1:30 to 2 pm at Nye Hill Farm in Roxbury, NH

Book of the Week (11/5/18)

I Can't Believe It's Not Buddha by Bodhipaksa (Parallax Press, 2018).

Quotes from the Buddha can be found everywhere: on Facebook, Instagram, coffee mugs, and posters. There’s only one problem: the Buddha didn’t actually say most of them. This humorous and informative book takes these fake Buddha quotes as a launching point for a discussion on what the Buddha really did say, and is a great entry point for those interested in learning more about Buddhism—what it is and what it isn’t. -- Back cover

Join NH author and Buddhist teacher Bodhipaksa at Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, NH on Wednesday, November 7, 2018 at 7:00 pm.

3 on a Theme: Isle of Shoals

• This Desired Place by Julia Older
• American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals edited by Austen Barron Bailly and John W. Coffey
• Mystery on the Isles of Shoals: Closing the Case on the Smuttynose Ax Murders of 1873 by J. Dennis Robinson
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LAL: Online Entries

Beginning this year there is an online submission platform for Letters About Literature entries set up by the Library of Congress. The online Submittable form went live yesterday. To see what the process looks like before you begin submitting, check out this video from the Library of Congress.

We encourage everyone to use this method of entering Letters About Literature if they can, but the New Hampshire competition will accept paper entries this year. Details are on the NH LAL page.

Letters About Literature Update

Entry information for this year is now available at Letters About Literature. New Hampshire students in grades 4-12 are invited to enter and we encourage everyone to use the Library of Congress's new online submission form which will open at the end of this week.  

Students who will not yet be 13 years old on November 1, 2018 will need to have a permission form signed by their parent or guardian to enter (even if they enter by mailing us their letter). We encourage teachers to get these sent home and signed ahead of time.

Online entry is a new process for Letters About Literature and the Library of Congress has compiled some teacher's resources which you may find useful in planning for this year's entries. There is an option for New Hampshire students to enter via snail mail which requires a new national entry coupon (and a permission slip for students under 13). The NH Center put together some notes on completing the new coupon. If you are using the online entry you system you don't need a coupon at all as the information will put entered directly.

We hope that the online process will go smoothly, but it is new and there may be some bumps along the way. Please get in touch if you have problems entering. All NH entries must be completed online or postmarked by midnight on December 14, 2018.