LIBRARY HOURS

Saturday, December 31     9:00-12:30
Sunday, January 1              CLOSED
Monday, January 2            CLOSED

 

 

 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 15:40 | link | comments

Best Fiction 2005
(more titles selected by the Christian Science Monitor)

OH PURE AND RADIANT HEART
Lydia Millet
In this humorous but compassionate satire, a Santa Fe librarian, in 2003 - thanks to a neat trick of time travel - meets the three physicists responsible for the creation of the atom bomb.

SHALIMAR THE CLOWN
Salman Rushdie
Doomed love, a doomed region, and terrorism all collide in Salman Rushdie's tale of a Muslim extremist from Kashmir who assassinates an ambassador to avenge a lost love.

THE PAINTED DRUM
Louise Erdrich
Longtime fans of Louise Erdrich and first-time readers alike will find much to enjoy in this story of a traditional native American drum and the lives it affects.

THE KING OF KINGS COUNTY
Whitney Terrell
In this rueful but loving coming-of-age tale set in Kansas farm country in the 1950s, a boy wrestles with his feelings about his dad, a real estate con man.

ON BEAUTY
Zadie Smith
This Booker prize nominee is Zadie Smith's love letter to E.M. Forster. In this modern take on "Howard's End," a British academic and his African-American wife grapple with questions of race, nationality, and marital expectations.

ANANSI BOYS
Neil Gaiman
Charlie Nancy, an easily embarrassed London accountant, attends his father's funeral only to discover that his dad was an African trickster god and he has a brother named Spider who inherited his father's gifts. From there, events in this funny, creative novel spin out of control.

FRIENDS, LOVERS, CHOCOLATE
Alexander McCall Smith
In this enjoyable follow-up to "The Sunday Philosophy Club," Scottish philosopher Isabel Dalhousie helps a client who is troubled by visions even as she edits a journal on applied ethics and moonlights as a shopkeeper.

THE SEA
John Banville
Irish writer John Banville shines as a stylist in this Booker prizewinner about a widower drawn to the Irish Sea and memories of his childhood as he processes his grief.

From the Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2005

by: mtpllibrarynews at 10:51 | link | comments

BEST FICTION 2005
(books selected by the Christian Science Monitor)

My Jim
Nancy Rawles
Nancy Rawles takes the brief mention of the wife of Jim, the runaway slave in "Huck Finn" and from that richly invents the life and love of a remarkable woman

Pearl
Mary Gordon
In this provocative novel, political extremism becomes a stark reality to a mother when her daughter - who has been studying in Ireland - begins a hunger strike.

A Long Long Way
Sebastian Barry
This Booker prize nominee employs beautiful language to tell the horrifying tale of life in the trenches of World War I.

Tilting at Windmills
Julian Branston
A witty, modern novel created as a companion to Cervantes's grand classic "Don Quixote"

March
Geraldine Brooks
The father from Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" comes to life in this story of a man struggling to reconcile his principles with the demands of everyday life.

Ireland
Frank Delaney
Delaney, a former BBC reporter, packs as many folk tales as possible into this story of an Irish teen in search of a storyteller he encountered as a child.

Saturday
Ian McEwan
Britain's award-winning novelist Ian McEwan offers us one long Saturday in the life of Henry Perowne, a prosperous middle-aged London surgeon who encounters a street tough who rocks his well-ordered world.

History of Love
Nicole Krauss
A Holocaust survivor who has never gotten over his first love and a young girl who was named for a character in a book he wrote are brought together in this unusual but graceful tale.

Oh Pure and Radiant Heart
Lydia Millet
In this humorous but compassionate satire, a Santa Fe librarian, in 2003 - thanks to a neat trick of time travel - meets the three physicists responsible for the creation of the atom bomb

 

Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2005

by: mtpllibrarynews at 09:45 | link | comments

BEST MYSTERIES 2005
(more titles from the Christian Science Monitor)

Tilt-A-Whirl
Chris Grabenstein

There isn't much fun in the sun when a billionaire real estate tycoon is found murdered on the Tilt-A-Whirl at a seedy seaside amusement in Sea Haven, New Jersey. John Ceepak, a former MP just back from Iraq, has joined the Sea Haven police department. The job offer came from an old army buddy who hoped to give Ceepak at least a summer's worth of R&R to help him forget the horrors of war. Instead, Ceepak will head up the murder investigation.

He is partnered with Danny Boyle, a 24-year-old, part-time summer cop who doesn't carry a gun and only works with the police by day so he has enough pocket money left over to play with his beach buddies by night. In the first novel in a new series, the Tilt-A-Whirl murder pushes Ceepak's sense of honor and integrity to the limits as unexpected situations keep the truth spinning wildly in every direction.

Slight Trick of the Mind
Mitch Cullin
This is an original portrait of Sherlock Holmes, in the twilight of his illustrious life. Cullin goes behind the cold, unsentimental surface to reveal the inner world of an obsessively private man. It is 1947, and the long-retired Holmes, now 93, lives with a housekeeper and her young son, Roger who comes upon a unknown case. It is that of a Mrs. Keller, the long-ago object of Holmes's deep—and never acknowledged—infatuation.  This reimagining of a classic character is a meditation on how, as we grow older, the way we see the world is inevitably altered.

In the Shadow of the Law
Kermit Roosevelt
Morgan Siler is one of Washington, D.C.'s most powerful law firms.  As Peter Morgan reaches the pinnacle of his career, his firm is embroiled in two difficult cases: a pro bono death-penalty case in Virginia, and a class-action lawsuit brought against Hubble Chemical of Texas after an on-site explosion killed dozens of workers.

In this complex, ambitious, and gripping first novel, Kermit Roosevelt vividly illustrates the subtle and stark effects of the law on the lives not only of a group of lawyers, but also on communities and private citizens.

Final Solution
Michael Chabon
In deep retirement in the English countryside, an 89-year old man, vaguely recollected by the locals as a once-famous detective, is more concerned with his bookkeeping than his fellow man. Into his life wanders Linus Steinman, nine years old and mute, who has escaped from Nazi Germany with his sole companion: an African grey parrot. What is the meaning of the mysterious strings of German numbers the bird spews out---a top-secret SS code? The keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts? Or do they hold a significance at once more prosaic and far more sinister?

Though the solution to this last case may be beyond even the reach of the once famed sleuth, the true story of the boy and his parrot is subtly revealed to the reader in a wrenching resolution.

From the publishers. 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 17:20 | link | comments

Best Mystery 2005
from the Christian Science Monitor

Bestselling author Michael Connelly delivers his first legal thriller--an incendiary tale about a cynical defense attorney whose one remaining spark of integrity may cost him his life.

 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 09:32 | link | comments

LIBRARY HOURS

Friday, 12/23          9-5
Saturday, 12/24     Closed
Sunday, 12/25        Closed
Monday, 12/26       Closed

 

 

 

 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 16:55 | link | comments

Best Book 2005

In 1864, after Union general William Tecumseh Sherman burned Atlanta, he marched his 60,000 troops east through Georgia to the sea, and then up into the Carolinas.  The army fought off Confederate forces and lived off the land, pillaging the Southern plantations....Only a master novelist could so powerfuly and compassionately render the lives of those who marched. 

The author of Ragtime, City of God, and The Book of Daniel has given us a magisterial work with an enormous cast of unforgettable characters.  At the center are General Sherman himself; a beautiful freed slave girl named Pearl; a Union regimental surgeon, Colonel Sartorius; Emily Thompson, the disposed daughter of a Southern judge; and Arly and Will, two misfit soldiers. 

Almost hypnotic in its narrative drive, The March stunningly renders the countless lives swept up in the violence of a country at war with itself.   The great march in E.L. Doctorow's hands becomes something more---a floating world, a nomadic consciousness, and an unforgettable reading experience with awesome relevance to our own times. 
From the jacket. 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 10:41 | link | comments

NEW MAGAZINE
The Library also subscribes to National Geographic Traveler
and Travel & Leisure

by: mtpllibrarynews at 09:38 | link | comments

This Week at the Library

Monday, December 19
7:30 - 8:00 pm

Snuggle Up Time
Ages 2-6

 

 

Tuesday, December 20
10:00 - 11:00 am

Mother Goose
Ages 10 - 23 months

 

 

Wednesday, December 21
4:00-4:30 pm

Act it Out:  The Mitten
Ages 6-8

 

 

 

Library Hours:  Closed 12/24, 12/25, 12/26

by: mtpllibrarynews at 15:42 | link | comments

Teacher Man
Frank McCourt

"Here they come. 
And I'm not ready.
How could I be?
I' m a new teacher and learning on the job....

In a minute the bell will ring.  They'll swarm in and what will they say if they see me at the desk?  Hey, look.  He's hiding out.  They are experts on teachers.  Sitting at the desk means you're scared or lazy.  You're using the desk as a barrier. Best thing is to get out there and stand.  Face the music.  Be a man.  Make on mistake your first day and it takes months to recover.

The kids arriving are juniors, sixteen years old, eleven years in school from kindergarten to today.   So, teachers come, teachers go, all kinds, old, young, tough, kind.  Kids watch, scrutinize, judge.  They know body language, tone of voice, demeanor in general.  It's not as if they sit around in toilets or cafeterias discussing these things.   They just absorb it over eleven years, pass it on to coming generations.  Watch our for Miss Boyd, they'll say.  Homework, man, homework, and she corrects it.  Corrects it."

by: mtpllibrarynews at 09:13 | link | comments

December 15 at 7:00

Our concert on Thursday will be a special treat:
a rare opportunity to hear four-hand piano (one piano, two pianists).

Jenny Strakovsky and Kathryn Silveria will present pieces arranged for
four hands by composers from Mozart to Gershwin. 

The concert will be followed by cookies and coffee.

by: mtpllibrarynews at 08:55 | link | comments

DROP-IN CRAFTS
December Projects

Visit the Children's Room at your convenience to make a craft, read a few books together and create your own storytime, personalized for your family!  A different project is offered each week. 

Week of December 12
Teddy Bears in a Stocking

 

 

Week of December 19
Santa Sign

 

 

Week of December 26
New Year's Winnie the Pooh

 

 

 

 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 16:25 | link | comments

Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886-July 30, 1918) was international renowned for his poem, Trees.  He was born in New Brunswick, NJ and attended Rutgers College and Columbia (B.A. 1908).  After beginning his career by teaching high school Latin, Kilmer worked as a definition writer for the Standard Dictionary and eventually  wrote for the New York Times. Killed while serving with U.S. military forces in France during World War I, Kilmer was posthumously awarded the French Croix de Guerre. 

He currently has a street named after him in New Brunswick and Edison, NJ, as well as many schools in NJ,  Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin, most of which were built during the period his poem was famous. The NJ Turnpike has a rest area named after him, between 8A and 9.  The Philolexian Society of Columbia University, a literary society of which he was Vice President,  holds every November the infamous Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest in his honor.  From Contemporary Authors Online, Gale 2003 and Wikipedia. 

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

by: mtpllibrarynews at 12:45 | link | comments

LOTS OF EVENTS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY 
                    THIS COMING WEEK

• Saturday, December 10
  Family Concert at 2:00 pm
  Rich Marzec and Friends play holiday favorites
  
  
• Monday, December 12
  Preschool Storytime at 10:30 am
  Holiday books and craft for ages 4-5
  
  
• Monday, December 12
  Monday Movies at 2:00 pm and 6:30 pm
  An autobiographical film of the the director of Cabaret

 

•  

• Monday, December 12
  Snuggle Up Time at 7:30 pm
  Stories for ages 2-6
•  
•  
•  
•  
  
  
• Thursday, December 15
  Toddler Storytime at 10:30 am
  Holiday favorites for ages 2-3
•  
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• Thursday, December 15
  Kathryn Silverio and Jenny Strakovsky
  Piano Duet (1 piano, 4 hands) at 7:00 pm
•  
•  
•  
• 
  Friday, December 16
  Elf Holiday Door Sign at 4:00 pm
  Schoolage craft & story for Grades 4-6

 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 16:36 | link | comments

If you like funny romance authors (like Jennifer Crusie), try one of the following:

Susan Anderson
Patti Berg
Elizabeth Bevarly
Emily Carmichael
Millie Criswell
Katie Fforde
Rachel Gibson
Kristine Grayson
Jane Heller
Julie Kenner
Marian Keyes
Lynn Kurland
Teresa Medeiros
Kasey Michaels
Hailey North
Julie Ortolon
Christie Ridgway
Jill Shalvis

Compiled by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list. 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 08:29 | link | comments

NEW MAGAZINES AT THE LIBRARY

by: mtpllibrarynews at 10:12 | link | comments

IN THE GALLERY

Come and meet
Thomas Wilczewski
Saturday, December 10 at 2:00 p.m.

The exhibit My World in Watercolor by painter Thomas Wilczewski will be on display during the month of December. 

His  landscapes and seascapes express the beauty he sees in clean bright washes of color and vibrant light and shadow.  He draws the viewer into the moment, out of the humdrum into a moment of beauty, to share his private world with us. 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 16:55 | link | comments

Bead Wreath Ornament

Wednesday, December 7
4:00 pm - 4:45 pm

Make a special holiday ornament and hear a seasonal story.  For children in grades 2-3.  Sign up now!

by: mtpllibrarynews at 09:46 | link | comments

2 Programs on Monday

Snuggle Up Time
Monday, December 5, 12, and 19
7:30 - 8:00 p.m.

For Ages 2-6 with an adult
Sign-ups are ongoing

December evenings are long, cold, and dark---and perfect for snuggling with a good book.  The Library's Snuggle Up Time programs offer families with young children the chance to do exactly that.  We hope you will join us for picture books and fun!

Monday Movies at the Library
Monday, December 5
2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Moving in time to Berlin in 1931, this is Fosse at his best.  Liza Minelli and Joel Grey perform, and the show goes on as the world outside slides into war.  Rated PG. 

 

 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 22:03 | link | comments

Performance will be rescheduled.  Cancelled due to snow. 

Tuesday, December 6
7:30 - 8:15 pm

For Ages 4+

The Holiday Jingles music program will feature singer Heather Mulvey performing Christmas carols and Hannukah songs.  The audience is encouraged to sing along.  This concert is a great way to celebrate the season. 

by: mtpllibrarynews at 08:24 | link | comments

DECEMBER 2005 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

by: mtpllibrarynews at 12:24 | link | comments