Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer Dead at 84

Everytime a famous author dies, I'm tempted to read everything written by them. The library owns many of Mailer's works, and they'll be waiting for you if you have an interest.

Links for further reading

Bio

BBC Obituary

New York Times

NY State Writers Institute

Other writers who have died in 2007:
Tillie Olsen, Robert Anton Wilson, Art Buchwald, Sidney Sheldon, Molly Ivins, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., David Halberstam, Robert Jordan, and Peg Bracken.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

“New Moon” in YALSA's 2007 Teens' Top Ten

From www.ala.org press release:
CHICAGO - More than 6,000 teen readers across the country chose “New Moon” by Stephenie Meyer as their favorite book in the annual Teens' Top Ten (TTT) vote, sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA). The online vote took place during Teen Read Week, October 14-20, with the second entry in Meyer's popular vampire romance series winning easily.

The 2007 Teens' Top Ten is:

1. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).
2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Viking Children's Books, 2006)
3. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles (Flux, 2006).
4. Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever by James Patterson (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).
5. Firegirl by Tony Abbott (Hachette Book Group USA/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2006).
6. All Hallows Eve (13 Stories) by Vivian Vande Velde (Harcourt, 2006).
7. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Harcourt, 2006).
8. River Secrets by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, 2006).
9. Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe (HarperCollins, 2006).
10. Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks (Chicken House, 2006).

Stephenie Meyer

Deep Economy author Bill McKibben on MPBN today at 1

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
by Bill McKibben

The library purchased the book, Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben based on a patron's request. Trying to break out of my usual reading patterns, I took it home and to my surprise enjoyed it very much. If you want to read more about the environment, energy, and learn about ways to save the planet, stop in and get the book or listen today to the author speak at 1 pm on the radio at 106.1.

Author/Environmentalist, Bill McKibben, will speak on Energy Conservation today, Tuesday, November 6 at 1:00 pm on the radio- Maine Public Broadcast Network (MPBN 106.1 FM).

Author's homepage

Author bio

Reviews

Nature Conservancy Magazine

Wisconsin Librarian


Two other suggested titles:
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and Poor People by William Vollman.

TAMC Healthfair 2007 a Success

If you were able to attend the Health Fair on Saturday you saw for yourself what a great success it was this year. The theme of "Around the World" was beautifully captured at all the booths and it was fun to see people dressed up in traditional costumes from around the world. We hope you stopped by the library booth to pick up the many booklets and handouts we provided on various health topics. Many people signed up for our raffle and winners will be picked and notifed on Monday, November 5th.

Whenever you need to locate health information you can always contact the library and we will be happy to assist you. A great place to start your own online search is: MedlinePlus
Of course, any and all health information you find on your own should be reviewed and discussed with your healthcare provider should you have questions or concerns.

A special thank you to all who provided support and donations:

• To the MSAD1 School Farm for providing their delicious apples to hand out
• To The Silver Basket for donating a beautiful gift basket to raffle
• To the Presque Isle Historical Society for donating one of their wonderful calendars to raffle
• To the Maine Potato Board for booklets and handouts
• To Crown Travel for travel posters, brochures, and maps to decorate booth
  
• To the National Network of Libraries of Medicine--New England Region (Michele and Javier) for supplying us with MedlinePlus literature and giveaways.
• Thanks to Nicholas for helping to staff our booth!
  

Book Clubs, Classics, Finding the Perfect Book

Book Club and Book Club Titles to Lend
You already know that the library has a book club and everyone is welcome and encouraged to join, but did you know that we also have multiple copies of previous book club titles that can be checked out (single or multiple copies). Maybe you can't make it to the current book club, but want to read the titles they are reading or perhaps form an informal group of your own. Either way, we can help. Call, email, or stop in for details.

David Steere Classics Collection
Sometimes when I am certain I have read a classic, the truth is that I have only seen the movie. Winter is coming and now is a great time to visit the David Steere Classics Collection in the library to browse the shelves and look for the perfect classic to read or reread. In scanning the shevles, I was amazed at how many classics I have yet to read.

NY Times Classics Great Books
Reading Room
From their page About the Reading Room:
"In the Reading Room, editors at The New York Times Book Review lead discussions about classic books with a panel of authors, reviewers, scholars and journalists."

Overbooked
Description from their page "Overbooked is a web site for ravenous readers. Overbooked provides timely information about fiction as well as readable nonfiction."

Critical Compendium/Book Reviews
Description from their site: "What you’ll find at this site: Book reviews, and lots of them. Every day we post links and a few lines from reviews in newspapers, journals, magazines and web zines. You will also find a sizable list of links to book review sections and literary blogs around the world."

Open Library
Description of their project from their site: "The Open Library website was created by the Internet Archive to demonstrate a way that books can be represented online. The vision is to create free web access to important book collections from around the world. Books are scanned and then offered in an easy-to-use interface for free reading online. If they're in the public domain, the books can be downloaded, shared and printed for free. They can also be printed for a nominal fee by a third party, who will bind and mail the book to you. The books are always FREE to read at the Open Library website."

Upcoming Events and Displays

Webkinz II 11/2 6pm. The first Webkinz night was great and everyone enjoyed it and asked for another. Bring your Webkinz and come to the library where you can meet others who love Webkinz too!!

Quilt display. If you enjoy seeing beautiful quilts, then come into the library and look up and you'll see the most wonderful display created by Bonnie Smith and Linda Randolph.

Folk Concert by Monica Grabin, November 16th at 6pm
Visit Monica's website to learn more about her.

What to do with that pile of used books

If you have a pile of books at home and you want to find something to do with them, here are a few suggestions:

Donate them to the library (we will add to our collection if appropriate or sell them and the funds support the library).

BookMooch is a site where you can register for free and swap books with others online. Only cost to you is postage. http://bookmooch.com

Donate them to a nursing home or other agency where they will be appreciated.