12/22/06

Merry Christmas!

If you are looking for a literary slant to your Christmas celebrations I have selected a couple of Christmas titles with Granite State connections for your enjoyment:

Whatever you decide to read, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

12/20/06

Boys & Books

There was an interesting program on NHPR's The Front Porch last night about Boys and Literacy. Liz Bulkley's guests were Ralph Fletcher, author of Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices and UNH Professor Tom Newkirk, author of Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture. I would encourage you to check out the online audio if you missed the program as it was a good discussion about how writing is taught in school and how that relates to the reading and writing skills among boys.
There are some other good resources on this topic as well which you might want to check out:

Connecting Boys with Books by Michael Sullivan is a very good resource on this topic. He also has a blog called Boy Meets Book.

Author Jon Scieszka has a project called Guys Read. Their mission is "to motivate boys to read by connecting them with materials they will want to read, in ways they like to read. "

Are there other good resources out there on this issue? I would love to hear about them! Please leave a comment.

12/14/06

A Local Best Book of the Year List

There was a great post on the Madison Library's blog today. Between now and the end of the year the are collecting a local list of the "Best books of 2006." I checked with the Librarian in Madison and we are all invited to vote online for "the best book you read in 2006" and the results will be posted in January.
Of course the NH Center for the Book collects Granite State Readers Recommendations year round, but cumulating "best of" lists is always fun.

12/13/06

Visit your local bookstore this weekend

Many communities in New Hampshire are lucky enough to have a local independent bookstore. If you live in (or near) one of them you should check out the events and holiday shopping opportunities they offer. Here is a sampling for this upcoming weekend:
  • Toadstool Bookshops (Keene, Milford, and Peterborough) have events scheduled with Tim O'Shea, Duane Hammond, Jill Weber, Marshall Thomas, William Hubbell, John McCutcheon, and Mrs. Claus. And that is just this coming weekend!
  • Gibsons Bookstore (Concord) is planning a small second attempt at the recently washed-out Midnight Merriment on Friday, December 15, and according to their e-mail newsletter: "again all of our hundreds of bargain books will be discounted an additional 25%. We'll be open til 9 PM. So will Bread & Chocolate, and Franz has arranged to have a wonderful guitarist, Thomas Economides, come in to provide live entertainment. And if books and treats aren't enough, be sure to visit Pitchfork Records during the evening --they'll also be open til 9, with their usual bargains and unexpected discoveries.
    Also, on Sunday, December 17, three great local authors--Fritz Wetherbee, Mike Pride, and Rebecca Rule--will be here, from 1 to 3, to sign their books for holiday gift-giving. ...Books are already great gifts, and signed books are even more so. And finally, if you missed NPR personality and Globe columnist Charlie Pierce when he came to sign his book (Moving the Chains: Tom Brady and the Pursuit of Everything) last weekend, fear not--Charlie has agreed to swing by this weekend to sign more copies. Reserve yours today!"

If something interesting is going on at your local bookstore this weekend add a comment to this post and tell us about it -- be sure to give the location of the bookstore.

12/11/06

Orhan Pamuk wins 2006 Nobel

It has been announced that the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2006 is awarded to the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".
In 2003 Pamuk received the the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

12/8/06

Looking for Stuff to Do?

There are several upcoming events that I have come across recently which you might want to add to your calendars:
  • Tuesday, December 12th, 10:30am, Dover Public Library Children's Librarian Marcia Cannon will present a program highlighting many of the best books for children this holiday season.
  • Friday, December 15th, 9am. NHPR's The Exchange will be doing their Holiday Books show with Dan Chartrand, co-owner of the Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, and Michael Herrmann, owner of Gibson's Bookstore in Concord as the guests.
  • Thursday, Jan. 18th, best-selling author Anita Diamant will take the stage at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, appearing as part of the popular series, Writers on a New England Stage. Diamant, the author of "The Red Tent," will discuss her latest best seller, "The Last Days of Dogtown."

12/7/06

Pulitzer Prizes

Besides being the Director of the NH Center for the Book, I am also the Librarian for NHAIS Services at the NH State Library. Today I seemed to be doing both jobs even though I was only working on one project. I was editing MARC records to add notes about Pulitzer Prizes in Poetry (a decidedly NHAIS -- NH Automated Information System -- activity) and I noticed that several of the winning poets were NH Authors. I couldn't resist pointing this out in the NHAIS Notes blog posting about the catalog enhancement:

On the Librarian's Tools Tab of the NHU-PAC there is, among other things, a link to the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. As of this afternoon this linked list includes all of the books that have won this award since 1922 when Edwin Arlington Robinson won the first Pulitzer Prize given for Poetry. He won again in 1925 and again in 1928. Robinson, who spent his summers at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH, is just one of the Pulitzer-winning poets with Granite State connections: Robert Frost, Richard Eberhart, Maxine Kumin, and Charles Simic are also on this list.The only remaining category that needs to have all the
relevant records coded so they will come up when you click on the NHU-PAC
Pulitzer prize link is "Biography or Autobiography." The links for History,
Fiction, and General Nonfiction are already complete lists.

12/6/06

NH: A Hotbed of Literary Talent

This week the Nesmith Library in Windham, NH hosted a booksale and signing featuring six NH children's writers. The librarian's blog -- correctly, I think -- pointed out that NH is a hotbed of literary talent. Her posting also includes news on the latest books from the featured authors.

NYT's Best Books of 2006

The New York Times Book Review has announced their 100 best books of 2006 which includes both novels and works of non-fiction. I am currently reading one of the novels they chose and several of the other books mentioned are now on my "to read" list.
Did the NYT do a good job of selecting the best books of 2006?
What have you read that they should have included?
Add a comment to this posting and share your opinion.

12/5/06

And the winner is ...







With 3,553 of the 17,027 votes cast, the winner of the 2006 Ladybug Picture Book Award is I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by David Catrow.
We received votes -- by the November 30th deadline -- from 130 schools and libraries. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Here are the complete vote counts:
  • [3,553] I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont & David Catrow
  • [3,252] The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
  • [2,282] Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies by Carolyn Crimi & John Manders
  • [1,531] Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
  • [1,397] Mr. Tuggle's Troubles by LeeAnn Blankenship & Karen Dugan
  • [1,349] The Dog Who Cried Wolf by Keiko Kasza
  • [1,105] Terrific by Jon Agee
  • [1,067] Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel & David Catrow
  • [943] The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle, Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
  • [548] The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle & Hanako Wakiyama

12/1/06

December Poetry Events

A HUGE calendar of poetry events in and around New Hampshire was in my email this morning. I have pasted the December events here and will try to remember to post other ones as they get closer. The calendar was compiled by Poetry Society of New Hampshire President Pat Frisella and she recommends that you always call or e-mail the venue before going if it is your first time out as things move around a lot!

NOTE: I have added spaces on either side of the @ in the included email addresses. To use them you will need to cut and paste the address and remove the spaces. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it helps to prevent spammers from harvesting the addresses off this site.

12/1/06 - 7-11pm - The Bridge Café, 1117 Elm st, Manchester - Jessica Del Bazo gets tucked into the open mic (bridgepoetry @ gmail.com)

12/2/06 - 2PM - Theatre II, The MUB, UNH, Durham - An afternoon of Native American Poetry and Discussion, Native Voices, Native Homelands.” Outstanding Native American writers from New England, Canada and the Southeast will gather together to read their work and engage in dialogue, with each other and with the public audience. The discussion will be facilitated by Siobhan Senier of the University of New Hampshire, and Lisa Brooks of Harvard University. This event will be held in partnership with Gedakina, a non-profit organization focused on indigenous cultural revitalization, educational outreach, and community wellness in northern New England. Featured Authors include:
• Lee Maracle, award-winning poet, orator, and fiction writer from the Sto:loh Nation, author of
Bentbox, Sundogs, and Ravensong, and currently the Mentor for Aboriginal Students at
University of Toronto, where she also is an instructor and the Traditional Cultural Director for
the Indigenous Theatre School.
• MariJo Moore, award-winning poet, essayist, editor, and publisher of Cherokee, Irish, and
Dutch ancestry, author of Crow Quotes, Redwoman with Backward Eyes and Other Stories, and
editor of Genocide of the Mind: New Writings by Native Americans.
• Cheryl Savageau, award-winning Abenaki poet and creative writer, author of Home Country,
Muskrat Will Be Swimming, Dirt Road Home, and the newly released Mother/land.
• Doris Seale, Santee Dakota/Cree, a founding member of OYATE and co-author of the awardwinning books The Broken Flute and Through Indian Eyes.
• Marge Bruchac, award-winning Abenaki historian, storyteller, and writer, author of 1621: A
New Look at Thanksgiving and the recently acclaimed Malian’s Song.
This event is made possible with the assistance and collaboration of the Center for the Humanities at the University of New Hampshire, Harvard University, the New Hampshire Humanities Council, Honor The earth, The Tides Foundation, The Seventh Generations Fund, Winter Center for Indigenous Traditions and Gedakina, Inc. Special thanks to the Native American Cultural Association at UNH (NACA) for their support and assistance ( Mimi Winder 603 862-3753 or mwinder @ cisunix.unh.edu.)

12/3/06 - 3:00pm - Del Rossi’s Trattoria, Route 137N, Dublin - Feature: Paradise Lost, Books I “The Burning Lake” and III, “Satan Discovers Eden,” in honor of Milton’’s 398th birthday, The Milton Ensemble, donation (rodgerwriter @ verizon.net)

12/4/06 - 7PM - Yen-Ching Library, 1st Fl Common Rm - # Divinity Ave at Kirkland St, Cambridge, MA - Reading by Joan Houlihan & NEPC prize-winning poets (781-643-0029)

12/5/06 - 7:30pm - Moultonboro Public Library - Marnie Cobbs & Michael Macklin followed by open mic (476-2630)

12/6/06 - 7:00pm - Café Espresso, 738 Islington Street - PPLP Hoot with Richard Foerster & Deidre Randall followed by open mic (http://www.pplp.org/HootNight.htm)

12/7/06 - 5PM - Hesser College Library, 3 Sundial Avenue, Manchester - Walter Butts will be reading from his recently published poetry collection, Sunday Evening at the Stardust Café

12/9/06 - Johnson Auditorium, Haverhill Public Library, 99 Main Street, Haverhill, MA - Local Authors Gathering and Book Sale. Come sign and sell your books. Free to the public, and there is no fee to sell your books. Christopher Obert (978-372-5825)

12/10/06 - 12-2PM - Tune in to WUNH 91.3fm (or use webstream to listen) - Pat Frisella with host Roland Goodbody will present a program featuring poetry and music from the Celtic countries

12/12/06 - 7PM- Cambridge Public Library, Central Sq, Cambridge, MA - reading by Pine Manor Poets & more NEPC prize winners (781-643-0029)

12/13/06 - 6:30 - 8:30 - WSCA, 106.1FM - Be part of the live studio audience. Join Writers in the Round to celebrate its 106th show with songwriters Guy Capecelatro III, Nate Laban, and poet Mark Decarteret, and radio host Deidre Randall. Studio doors will be open at 6:30pm for coffee and dessert. Donations to benefit Portsmouth Community Radio, 909 Islington Street, Portsmouth. (witr06 @ deidrerandall.com or 603-205-0552)

12/14/06 - 7 - 8:45 pm - Crackskull's, 86 Main St, Newmarket - Spoken Word Open Mic - sign up early (achaffee @ warrenmorrisltd.com)

12/20/06 - 7pm - Borders Books, Ft Eddy Road, Concord - Maren Tirabassi & Dianalee Velie followed by open mic

12/27/06 - 7PM - Café on the Corner, 478 Central Ave, Dover - Blood on the fllor Slam Team (John-Michael Albert, Matt Gallant, Ayanna Morris, Mike Nelson, Tim Veilleux) followed by open mic, and door prize drawing (John-Michael.Albert @ comcast.net)