New Fiction

• Paths of Glory - Jeffrey Archer
  
• Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks
  
• The Algebraist - Iain M. Banks
  
• Excession - Iain M. Banks
  
• Matter - Iain M. Banks
  
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muiriel Barbery
  
• The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
  
• The Manual of Detection - Jedediah Berry
  
• The Women - T. Coraghessan Boyle
  
• Double Negative - David Carkeet
  
• Alliance Space - C.J. Cherryh
  
• Breakthrough - C.J. Cherryh
  
• Cheyteen - C.J. Cherryh
  
• Downbelow Station - C.J. Cherryh
  
• Foreigner - C.J. Cherryh
  
• Regenesis - C.J. Cherryh
  
• Still Life - Joy Fielding
  
• Until Its Over - Nicci French
  
• Ultimatum - Matthew Glass
  
• The Bellini card - Jason Goodwin
  
• Cutting Through the Knot - Josh Greenfield
  
• The Believers - Zoe Heller
  
• The Piano Teacher - Janice Y.K. Lee
  
• About Face - Donna Leon
  
• Night and Day - Robert B. Parker
  
• All the colors of darkness - Peter Robinson
  
• Promises in Death - J. D. Robb
  
• Water Dogs - Lewis Robinson
  
• The First Person and Other Stories - Ali Smith
  
• In the Eye of the Sun - Ahdaf Soueif
  
• One Day at a Time - Danielle Steel
  
• TheTourist - Olen Steinhauer
  
• Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

New Non-Fiction

• Lords of Finance: the Bankers who Broke the World - Liaquat Ahamed
  
• A Pint of Plain: Tradition, Change, and the fate of the Irish Pub - Bill Barich
  
• Satchmo: the Wonderful World amd Art of Louis Armstrong - Steven Brower
  
• Cheever: a life - Blake Bailey
  
• American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America - Dorning Kindersley
  
• Aromas orf Aleppo: the Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews - Poopa Dweck
  
• Martin Puryear - John Elderfield
  
• Weekend Knitting: 50 Unique Projects and Ideas
  
• The Carolinas & Georgia - Fodor's
  
• Old Friend from Far Away: the Practice of Writing Memoir - Natalie Goldberg
  
• Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoit of Alaska and the Real People - William L. Iggiagruk Hensley
  
• Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table: a Collection of Essays from the New York Times - Amanda Hesser
  
• Michelle Obama:First Lady of Hope - Elizabeth Lightfoot
• New England Trips - Lonely Planet
  
• New York, Washington DC & the Mid-Atlantic Trips - Lonely Planet
  
• Stopping Identity Theft: 10 Easy Security Steps - Scott Mitic
  
• The Girl Mechanic: Classic Crafts, Games & Toys to Build - Popular Mechanics
  
• Off the Beaten Path: Travel Guide to More than 1,000 Scenic and Interesting Places Still Uncrowded and Inviting - Reader's Digest
  
• Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor - Curtis Roosevelt
  
• Passing Strange : a Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line - Martha A. Sandweiss
  
• The Inheritance: The World Obama Cconfronts and the Challenges to American Power
  
• The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty - Peter Singer
  
• King's Dream - Eric J. Sundquist
  
• I Used to Know That: Stuff you Forgot from School - Caroline Taggart
  
• Not So Big Remodeling - Marc Vassallo
  
• Edible Schoolyard: a Universal Idea - Alice Waters
  
• Takashi's Noodles - Takashi Yagihashi

New Audio Books

• Death of a Witch - M.C. Beaton
• The Women - T.C. Boyle
• Sharpe's Enemy - Bernard Cornwell
• Inspector Ghote Goes by Train - H.R.F. Keating
• Night and Day - Robert B. Parker
• Promises in Death - J.D. Robb
• The Little Sleep - Paul Tremblay
• Among the Mad - Jacqueline Winspear

New DVD's

We have many new DVDs this month, but since most have waiting lists you won't find them on the shelf. The best way to get the DVD you want is to order it. We would be happy to show you how to order from your home computer, or if you prefer, leave a request at the circulation desk and we will order it for you.

• Arranged
• Big Night
• Bolt
• Cadillac Records
• Happy-Go-Lucky
• In the Electric Mist
• In Treatment
• I've Loved You So Long
  
• Leonard Cohen Live in London
• Marley and Me
• Mean Girls
  
• Milk
• Quantum of Solace
• Rachel Getting Married
• Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
  
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Splendor in the Grass
• Superbad
• Synecdoche New York
• Tell No One
• The Velveteen Rabbit
• The Wackness

_______________________

BOOKLISTS

Every month in this spot we feature reading suggestions. These include historic fiction, science fiction, mysteries, and more. Many of these titles can be found in the Mid Hudson Library System.

Visit the Library to pick up a copy of the booklist-of-the-month brochure and check out a book from our current display.

Centennial Booklist 1940-1959

1940

• For Whom the Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
  
• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson Mccullers
  
• My Name is Aram (stories) - William Saroyan
  
• Native Son - Richard Wright
  

1941

• Saratoga Trunk - Edna Ferber
  
• H. M. Pulham, Esquire - John P. Marquand
  
• Mr. and Mrs. Cugat - Isabel Scott Rorick
  
• What Makes Sammy Run - Budd Schulberg
  

1942

• Go Down Moses (stories) - William Faulkner
  
• The Skin of Our Teeth - Thornton Wilder
  

1943

• Four Quartets - T. S. Eliot
  
• The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
  
• The Human Comedy - William Saroyan
  
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
  

1944

• Harvey - Mary Chase
  
• A Bell for Adano - John Hersey
  
• Strange Fruit - Lillian Smith
  

1945

• The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams
  
• Black Boy (NF) BIO Wright - Richard Wright
  

1946

• Member of the Wedding - Carson Mccullers
  
• The Iceman Cometh - Eugene O'Neill
  
• All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
  
• Delta Wedding - Eudora Welty
  

1947

• Gentleman's Agreement - Laura Z. Hobson
  
• A Streetcar Named Desire—Tennessee Williams
  

1948

• The Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles
  
• Intruder in the Dust - William Faulkner
  
• The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer
  
• The Young Lions - Irwin Shaw
  

1949

• The Seven Storey Mountain (NF) BIO Merton - Thomas Merton
  
• Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
  

1950

• The cocktail Party (play) - T.S. Eliot
  

1951

• The Catcher in the Rye - J.D.Salinger
  
• The Caine Mutiny - Herman Wouk
  
• Ballad of the Sad Cafe - Carson McCullers
  
• Kon-Tiki (NF) - Thor Heyerdahl
  

1952

• Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison
  
• The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
  

1953

• From Here to Eternity - James Jones
  
• The Adventures of Augie March - Saul Bellow
  
• The Crucible (play) - Arthur Miller
  

1955

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (play) - Tennessee Williams
  
• A Good Man is Hard to Find (stories) - Flannery O’Connor
  
• The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit - Sloan Wilson
  
• Gift from the Sea (NF) - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  

1956

• The Last Hurrah - Edwin O’Connor
  
• Peyton Place - Grace Metalious
  

1957

• The Wapshot Chronicle - John Cheever
  
• West Side Story (musical) - Arthur Laurents and Leonard Burnstein
  
• On the Road - Jack Kerouac
  

1958

• Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
  
• Lolita - Vladimir Nabikov
  
• The Magic Barrel - Bernard Malamud
  

1959

• Raisin in the Sun (play) Lorraine Hansberry
  
• The Ugly American - William J. Lederer and Eugene L. Burdick
  

Jon Bowermaster

Terra Antarctica,
Re-Discovering the Seventh Continent

Friday, April 24, 7pm
at the Marbletown Community Center

Jon, A National Geographic explorer will "premiere" his brand new high-definition film all about Antarctica. This is a film of his three month long expedition by sea kayak, foot, sailboat and small plane in 2008. The film will start showing at film festivals around the country in the spring but this showing is for his hometown audience.

An engaging speaker, Jon is also a prolific author. His last book, Wildebeest in a Rainstorm: Profiles of Our Most Intriguing Adventurers, Conservations, Shagbags and Wanderers is available at the library. Additional titles and information can be found on Jons website.

Once again we are grateful to Jon for this Library fundraiser. Admission is $10 for adults, children are free. Light refreshments will be served.

_____________________________________

CELEBRATING MARBLETOWN

On the Occasion of the Stone Ridge Library's 100th Year

Friday, April 3, 6pm
in the Reference Room

Award-winning poet Matthew J. "Matt" Spireng will present a reading celebrating the Town of Marbletown, its people, its places and its past. His books will be available at the reading for purchase and signing,with a portion of the proceeds to be donated to the Library.

_____________________________________

Tea Time Book Group

Reading Between the Lines
Book Series

Wednesday, April 15, (third Wednesday this month)
4pm, Biography Room

Rethinking Religion: Recent Women's Novels and American Identity

The New York Council for the Humanities is sponsoring a series that explores four novels by women that involve the quest for meaningful religious experience in contemporary American society. Each session centers on book selected by Elizabeth Toohey, a graduate student at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Dr. Joseph Keefe, our guest scholar will facilitate the discussions.

A discussion of Toni Morrison's novel Paradise, a richly imagined and elegantly composed novel which treats the role of the church in the African American community since the time of slavery.

Join us in the Biography Room for lively Discussion and light refreshments.

_____________________________________

HOLMES & CO.
Mystery Lovers
Book Group

Thursday, April 16,
4pm in the Biography Room

The selections for this meeting include: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin and The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter - a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle.

_____________________________________

The New Yorker Discussion Group

Friday, April 10 at 3:30pm
in the Reference Room

Come to this meeting and join the group.

We will be discussing:

• Feb 23rd P. 32 ANNALS OF TECHNOLOGY Shoot, Making shotguns for robots by Evan Ratliff
  
• Feb 23rd P. 38 A REPORTER AT LARGE The Hard Cases, A test for the administration on detainees by Jane Mayer
  
• March 9th P. 38 LETTER FROM REYKJAVIK Lost, Iceland’s post crash identity crisis by Ian Parker
  
• March 2nd P. 38 A REPORTER AT LARGE The Back Channel, India and Pakistan negotiate on Kashmir by Steve Coll
  

If time permits the following are available for discussion

• March 2nd P 52 PROFILES The Actress, A diva’s unusual approach to opera by Rebecca Mead
  
• March 9th P 48 LIFE AND LETTERS The Unfinished David Foster Wallace’s project by D. T Max
  

Please bring your “wish list” of articles for discussion from current New Yorker magazines for the May meeting. Our facilitator (Rosemary Milici) will make the selections at the beginning of the meeting.

See you there 1/2 HOUR EARLIER

_____________________________________

Lords of Finance

Several members of the New Yorker group are interested in discussing the new book Lords of Finance: the Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed. If you are interested in joining the discussion please email Brian Drabkin at Drabkinland@aol.com to discuss possible dates and times.

_____________________________________

WRITERS GROUP

Every Saturday

1pm in the
Reference Room

The Library has a writers group that meets every Saturday in the Reference Room. They read from their writing and share thoughts. If you are interested in writing you are welcome to join us.

_____________________________________

Knitting Group

Every Saturday
10am-noon

The Stone Ridge Library Knitters meet every Saturday morning from 10am - 12noon. All ages and experience levels can join us and drop-in knitters are also welcome. We each bring our own supplies and do our own work, but one of the best things about us is that whatever obstacle or confusion you might encounter, you're likely to receive as much comment and advice as you need to get where you're going with a project. Some of us can help toward the repair of knitted or crocheted items too.

The group is sociable and lively, and our conversation and sharing is just as wide-ranging as our projects. We are especially interested in the UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) that members bring in and love the show and tell of projects under way and being finished, new or old, simple or complex. Though knitting is our love and mainstay, we graciously adapt ourselves to stray crocheters and those of us who simply must take to the hook when the spirit moves. We share articles, magazines and books on knitting. Donations of yarn to the Library get made up into items for sale at the Library Fair and during the winter holidays for the benefit of the Library. Some of us also knit things for local hospitals or for the U.S. troops

_____________________________________

On the Shelves

with Phyllis Keaton
Poughkeepsie Journal 3.15.09

Books offer understanding of decision-making process

Editor's note: On the Shelves is a monthly column by a rotating list of mid-Hudson Valley library directors who comment on notable books coming to your local public library.

"Why do you think people feel more empathy for a puppy with a hurt paw than
for a person without health insurance?"

This question was posed by Deborah Solomon in an interview in the Feb. 2 New
York Times Magazine. The answer is central to several new books that examine
how we make decisions. This is important, because how we make decisions affects the decisions we make, and the decisions we make affect more than ourselves.

The Empathy Gap: Building Bridges to the Good Life and the Good Society (Viking, 306 pages), by J.D. Trout.

In response to Solomon's question, Trout responds, "Part of the reason is banal. Ease of visualization. The person without health insurance is likely to appear as a statistic, one among 50 million others." Trout explains: "There is no doubt that the drop-off in empathy occurs from your house out, which means that we feel less empathy for people who are farther away." When it's your child who loses the protection of health insurance, the issue comes home.

Why do we feel others bring their problems on themselves, but attribute our own problems to bad luck? Why do we gamble when we know the odds favor the house? Why do people make decisions that are not in their best interest? And how can we keep these very human glitches from adversely affecting public policies? In The Empathy Gap, Trout dexterously builds a bridge to somewhere.

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (Yale, 293 pages), by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein.

The authors describe their approach as "libertarian paternalism," which encourages good behavior without restricting freedom of choice. An example of a "nudge": Asking people to sign up to be organ donors has not been effective. Instead, assume people want to be organ donors and allow them the freedom to opt out. "Nudge" presents common-sense approaches to helping people make decisions."

Book looks at case studies

How We Decide (Houghton Mifflin, 302 pages), by Jonah Lehrer.

"Deal or No Deal"? According to Lehrer, it's a TV game show of dumb luck, but also a game of difficult decisions.

Lehrer's book is full of interesting case studies of how pilots, firefighters, doctors and even psychopathic killers make difficult decisions. Psychopaths lack the emotions that guide moral decisions, possibly due to a defect in the brain. Based on neuroscience research, How We Decide describes what goes on in the brain during the decision-making process, and how knowledge of the process can help people make better decisions.

Why We Make Mistakes (Broadway, 283 pages), by Joseph T. Hallinan.

While Lehrer's book focuses on the science of making the right decisions, Hallinan's focuses on the psychology behind the mistakes we make.

Common mistakes are organized into sections with headings such as, "We Can Walk and Chew Gum - But Not Much Else." This section, about multitasking, describes how the belief you can switch seamlessly between tasks can result in fatal mistakes. A driver's two-second glance at a text message, for example, doubles the risk of an accident. People switch between tasks without focusing on any of them, which is one reason why we make mistakes. This is a highly readable, entertaining, and slightly scary, book. Everyone makes mistakes.

Phyllis Keaton is the director of the Howland Public Library, serving the Beacon City School District. She serves on the board of the Foundation for Hudson Valley Libraries and on the Mid-Hudson Library System Outreach Committee. She chairs the MHLS Continuing Education Committee. She is past-president of the New York Library Association Library Administration & Management and NYLA's Public Libraries Sections, and past-chair of the Dutchess County Library Directors Association.

GREAT WEBSITES!

The 44th President: First 100 Days

News and analysis about the first 100 days of the Barack Obama ad-ministration from several points of view: the Department of State, CNN and BBC.

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs site follows "President Obama's initiatives and policy directions. We'll look at new presidential orders, policies on the economy, alternative energy and foreign affairs, and his use of new media. We'll review the new president's progress and governing style, take a look at the challenges of governing the United States, and keep you informed about the fun moments as well." more

CNN covers priorities and progress, global challenges, and state of the nation. Includes links to additional material such as an interactive tour of the White House, a quiz on previous presidents' accomplishments during their first 100 days, and related topics. more

BBC covers the British perspective on "developments in the first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency." Topics include the inauguration, the economy and economic stimulus plans, foreign relations, legislation, and more. Includes articles and video clips. more

Picturing Words: The Power of Book Illustration

This exhibit explores book illustration as inspiration (sacred texts and letterforms), information (geography and travel, natural history, and anatomy), and influence (such as product literature and architecture). It also includes details about the process of illustration, and selected readings and online resources. From the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. more

World Newspapers

This website contains links to thousands of newspapers from all over the world, many magazines and news sites in English. Taking a trip to Iceland? choose from 5 newspaper sites. The magazines are catagorized by subjects such as animals, auto, entertainment, food, literature, sports, travel. more

Beneath the Veil
Lifting the Veil

Companion to a 2001 British documentary "Beneath the Veil" and the 2002 update "Lifting the Veil" on women's lives in Afghanistan under the Taliban and "whether women's lives have improved since the fall of the Taliban." Includes background about Afghanistan (history, geography, the people, and who are the Taliban), aid and opposition, Islam, and fundamentalisms. Includes links to related sites. From Channel 4. more

BBC Gardening

Collection of material about gardens and gardening from a British perspective. Includes a history of British gardening (covering Victorian gardens, the importance of war time gardens, and more), gardening basics, plant finder database (by common or Latin name) with photos and descriptions, interactive pest and disease identifier, suggestions for climate-friendly gardening, material for gardening with children and growing crops, virtual garden planner, photos from flower shows, blog, and more. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). more

Looking In:
Robert Frank's
"The Americans"

Companion website to a 2009 exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of Robert Frank's "The Americans" (first published in France in 1958, in the U.S. in 1959), which "is widely celebrated as the most important photography book since World War II." Includes an exhibition feature, audio of art talks, and a slide show from an installation held in conjunction with this exhibit, entitled "Reading the Modern Photography Book: Changing Perceptions." From the National Gallery of Art. more

Alltop

Alltop is an “online magazine rack” of popular topics. The top sites are grouped together into easily browsed categories and are updated every hour. There are hundreds of topics, including health, technology, news, people, and culture, you can either search by keyword or alphabetically. If you pause your mouse on any entry you get a sample from the beginning of the post. more

Top 10 Tools for a Free Online Education

"It's easy to forget these days that the internet started out as a place for academics and researchers to trade data and knowledge. Recapture the web's brain-expanding potential with these free resources for educating yourself online." By Kevin Purdy at Lifehacker. more

Library of Congress Poetry Resources

Guide to poetry resources at the Library of Congress, including webcasts, digital collections, exhibitions, learning materials, and other features. Also provides links to guides to finding a poem, locating poetry criticism, official state poems, poets laureate, and more. Compiled by Peter Armenti, Digital Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress. more

GreenHomeGuide

This website features a "combination of tips, case studies, expert Q&A articles and regional directories of products and services." Browse by area or feature of the home, such as bathrooms or flooring. Product directory (covering San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and New York City) contains a detailed description of the process of selecting and approving products for the directory, noting "only a minority of products are approved." From the U.S. Green Building Council. more

10 Great Social Sites for Resume Building

"Creating the perfect resume is not easy. Luckily, there are a number of online resources dedicated to helping you create outstanding traditional and social media resumes. Here are 10 great social sites with unique features that let you create your own resume-like profile, edit your resume online, get it reviewed by experts, print it, share it on social networks, and much more. " From Mashable! by Dan Schawbel more

Etsy: The Storque

Blog from a forum for crafters to sell products online. Topics for entries include marketing, pricing, project ides, showcasing work, and potential purchases inspired by looks at individuals' interior decorations. Also includes process videos. more

International Year of Natural Fibres 2009

Website for this international year that has the goal of raising "the profile of [natural] fibres and to emphasise their value to consumers while helping to sustain the incomes of the farmers." Includes feature stories about natural fibers and fiber industry (such as Peru's alpaca herders), event listings, and profiles of natural fibers such as flax, jute, sisal, and wool. Available in several languages. From the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. more

______________________

Contact Us

Phone: 687-7023

E-Mail: Webmaster

HOME | GENERAL | SERVICES | RECENT | CATALOGS | PROGRAMS | HELP US | COMMUNITY | SITE MAP