Book of the Week #38

To My Countrywomen: The Life of Sarah Josepha Hale by Muriel L. Dubois; illustrated by Lisa Greenleaf. (Bedford, NH: Apprentice Shop Books, 2006)

This Saturday is the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, DC. The Center for the Book at the NH State Library was, as in previous years, asked to select a book to be featured on the Pavillion of the State's “Discover Great Places Through Reading” map. We chose to feature this work by and about New Hampshire women.

Muriel Dubois and Lisa Greenleaf are both residents of the Granite State and have created this illustrated biography of America's first woman editor. Sarah Josepha Hale was an early activist for women's education and property rights. She is best known for her role in the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday and as the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

The Sarah Josepha Hale Award, one of New England's oldest and most distinguished literary awards, is named for this famous daughter of Newport, NH.

What's happening at NH bookstores this week?

Here is a sampling of events taking place this week at local bookshops. If your events aren't here, please add me to your store's mailing list!

Water Street Bookstore

• On Tuesday 9/22 at 7pm -- Oyster River grad, now journalist and teacher with a book published by Globe Pequot, Ethan Gilsdorf is returning to his hometown New Hampshire to share his secret shame: he was a closet gamer, Dungeons and Dragons aficionado, lover of fantasy realms and science fiction. As an adult, he wondered how others like him balance their imaginary worlds with the real one. So he found them and he asked them--grown men who build hobbit holes and speak Elvish, Tolkien scholars, live action role-players, Harry Potter tribute bands. Memoir, travelogue, pop-culture analysis, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is highly readable and incredibly timely. Online role-playing is a multi-million dollar industry and growing in popularity everyday. Come discover what the hoopla is all about with the man who can explain both sides.
• On Friday 09/25 at 7pm -- Hosting Anthony Flint, author of the new book, Wrestling With Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York's Master Builder and Transformed the American City.

Toadstool Bookshops

• Saturday, September 26, 2009 11:00 a.m. (Peterborough store) -- Elizabeth Thomas will sign and discuss The Hidden Life Of Deer.
• Saturday, September 26, 2009 11:00 a.m. (Milford store) -- A Reading from My Side of the Street by poet Martha Deborah Hall
• Saturday, September 26, 2009 2:00 p.m. (Milford store) -- Ravenous Romance Novelists Gregory L. Norris writing as Jo Atkinson and Roxanne Dent! Come meet the stars of The Home Shopping Network's first ever line of Romance Novels!

Gibson's

• French Poetry in Translation, with J. Kates, Thursday, September 24, at 7 PM.
  J. Kates is a poet, literary translator and the president and co-director of Zephyr Press, a non-profit press that focuses on contemporary works in translation from Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia.
• Nicholson Baker--Thursday, Sept. 24, around 1:00 PM.
  One of our favorite writers, Nicholson Baker, will be dropping by to meet readers and sign books after an appearance on NHPR. He will not be reading--this will be a more informal event.
• Casey Sherman, Bad Blood: Freedom and Death in the White Mountains Thursday, October 1, at 7 PM.
  Bad Blood is the riveting account of the long-standing feud between Franconia, New Hampshire, police officer Bruce McKay, 48, and Liko Kenney, 24.

Granite State Reads on the radio

Either tomorrow or Monday between 5:30 and 9am WGIR (AM 610) will be running a short piece about our Granite State Reads grant project. We appreciate their efforts to spread the word about this grant opportunity for NH's literacy projects!

No More Ads on Our Book of the Week Widget

Several months ago I created a widget that you could include on your blog or website to display the Center's book of the week. Many of you added it to your sites which was wonderful.
Today I heard from the Whipple Free Library in New Boston that they were getting pop-up ads on our widget and wanted to know why. I was unaware of this and looked into it right away.

The ads were the result of a change to the terms of the free subscription to widgetbox that I used to create the widget. I have now upgraded our widgetbox account and the ads should be gone. I have the widget installed on the Center for the Book blog and the ads on our widget went away without my doing anything special when I upgraded the account. If you continue to see them on your copy of our widget, please try reinstalling the widget. If that doesn't make the ads go away, please let me know.

If you were feeling inspired to buy stuff when you saw the ads, how about a membership in the Center for the Book at the NHSL?

Book of the Week #37

Olive's Pirate Party by Roberta Baker; illustrated by Debbie Tilley (Little, Brown & Co., 2005)

"When Olive Elizabeth Julia Jerome turned seven, she wanted a party with pirates."

Who can blame her? This wonderful picture book by Roberta Baker of Tilton, NH would be a fun addition to your celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day (Saturday, September 19, 2009) when everyone is encouraged to talk like a pirate.

Book of the Week #36

Catamount: A North Country Thriller by Rick Davidson (Center Ossipee, NH: Beech River Books, 2008)

Rick Davidson, a resident of Freedom, is a teacher, photographer, and--with the publication of this, his first novel-- author.
Man's sacrilegious infringements on Nature's delicate balance calls down a forgotten Indian curse and releases a raging mountain lion, a catamount in the North Woods. This creature is not supposed to be there and is not supposed to prey on humans, but two young children and their dog pick up its trail behind an isolated summer camp not far from the Canadian border. The children do not return and a search and rescue party sets out after them, but the rampages of the malevolent ghostlike cat hinders their efforts and a violent storm sets off a serious forest fire in the tinder-dry forest.

"June.
The silence is not normal for the time of year. If Rob Schurman, the local conservation officer, was there, he might notice that suddenly, for no apparent reason, all the forest noises stop. Indeed, after relative silence, he would wonder why every bullfrog, cricket, whippoorwill, and peeper within hearing distance suddenly resumes, creating a cacophony of outback nature sounds. This concert would invariably stop in unison again only moments later. It would not have been unthinkable for someone to be in the woods videotaping the sights and sounds of early summer. Had that person been there, his camera might have caught a glimpse of something black as it slowly emerged from the underbrush. Neither the conservation officer nor a videographer was there. There was only the full moon, a large expanse of field, five deer feeding on the low grass, and a shadowy creature moving slowly just below the tops of the wild grass." (p. 5)

The Digital Bookmobile is coming to New Hampshire!

The Digital Bookmobile is a high-tech, 18-wheel download experience with instructional videos and interactive computer stations. Check it out and learn more about Overdrive Downloadable Audiobooks.

Wednesday, Sept. 9 – Manchester
Saturday, Sept. 12 – Keene

Book of the Week #35

Then, Something by Patricia Fargnoli (Tupelo Press, 2009)

This is the latest volume of poetry from New Hampshire's most recent past poet laureate, Patricia Fargnoli. Ms. Fargnoli will read from this newly-released book on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009, 6:30-8:30pm at the Robert Frost Farm. This reading, which will also include poet Stephen Scaer, is part of the Hyla Brook Reading Series. An Open Mic will follow the readings and all audience members are invited to share their work.

“Patricia Fargnoli’s poems are vividly and gratefully aware of the comforts and assurances of the natural world; she does not miss a stitch of beauty, neither does she avoid the darker aspects of . . . human awareness of our continual aging, to which she gives sharp and poignant attention. I have been her champion since her first book Necessary Light was published, and I continue to be so.”
—Mary Oliver

Do you have a library card?

Do you have something that fits in your pocket and that gives you access to books, magazines, videos, CDs, downloadable audiobooks, online databases, and more -- all for free?
If you have a library card you do!
If you don't have a library card September is a great month to visit your local public library and get one. September is Library Card Sign Up Month and many New Hampshire libraries, including my local library, are having special promotions and events that make your library card even more valuable.