July 2006

New Fiction

• The Cold Moon: a Lincoln Rhyme novel - Jeffery Deaver
• Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich
• The Good Works of Ayela Linde - Charlotte Forbes
• Killer Dreams - Iris Johansen
• The Art of Deception: a novel of suspense - Laurie R. King
• The Husband - Dean Koontz
• Lost Hearts in Italy - Andrea Lee
• Captive of My Dreams: a Malory Novel - Johanna Lindsey
• On Off - Coleen McCullough
• Telegraph Days - Larry McMurtry
• Londonstani - Gautam MalkaniBlue Screen: a Sunny Randall Novel - Robert B. Parker
• Sandcastles - Luanne Rice
• Piece of My Heart - Peter Robinson
• Black Order: a Sigma Force Novel - James Rollins
• Coming Out - Danielle Steel
• You're Not You - Michelle Wildgen

New Non-Fiction

• An Inconvenient Truth: the Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We can do about it - Al Gore
• The din in the Head: essays - Cynthia Ozick
• Mockingbird: a Portrait of Harper Lee - Charles Shields
• Living with Cancer: a Practical Guide - Dave Visel
• The Cloudspotter's Guide: the Science, History, and Culture of Clouds - Gavin Pretor-Pinney
• Chosen by a Horse: a Memoir - Susan Richards
• The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen - Michael Ruhlman
• The Oxford Book of American Poetry - edited by David Lehman
• Knitting Nature: 39 Designs inspired by patterns in nature - Norah Gaughan
• A Year of Roses - Stephen Scanniello
• Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes from the London River Cafe - Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers

New Audios

All CDs unless noted

• The Art of Deception: a novel of suspense - Laurie R. King
• The Husband - Dean Koontz
• Cod: a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World - Mark Kurlansky
• Everyman - Phillip Roth

New DVD's

• Black Sky: Winning the X-Prize
  
• Diabolique
  
• I Love Lucy - 30 Episodes
  
• My Family and Other Animals
  
• New York City Ballet Workout
  
• Six Feet Under, Complete Fifth Season
  
• Syriania
  
• Three Burials of Malquadis Estrada
  

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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.

Favorite Book Group Titles

• Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
  
• In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
  
• The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou
  
• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
  
• Paradise Alley by Kevin Baker
  
• The Clothes They Stood Up In and The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett
  
• Open House by Elizabeth Berg
  
• Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
  
• Breathtaker by Alice Blanchard
  
• Before you Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
  
• Midwives by Chris Bohjalian
  
• All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
  
• Girls by Frederick Busch
  
• Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
  
• Sarah: Women of Genesis by Orson Scott Card
  
• The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter
  
• Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
  
• River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke
  
• What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage
  
• Nine Horses by Billy Collins
  
• Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
  
• The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat
  
• Raising Fences: A Black Man's Love Story by Michael Datcher
  
• House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
  
• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
  
• Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
  
• White Oleander by Janet Fitch
  
• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
  
• Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons
  
• The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer
  
• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
  
• Replay by Ken Grimwood
  
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
  
• Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh
  
• A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton
  
• The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
  
• Eventide by Kent Haruf
  
• You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett
  
• Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes
  
• The Great Fire : A Novel by Shirley Hazzard
  
• Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
  
• Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
  
• The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman
  
• Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  
• The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley
  
• The Known World by Edward P. Jones
  
• The Captain's Wife by Douglas Kelley
  
• The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
  
• A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
  
• The Ha-Ha by Dave King
  
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
  
• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
  
• Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
  
• I Know this Much Is True by Wally Lamb
  
• She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
  
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
  
• Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
  
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
  
• Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
  
• Absolutely American by David Lipsky
  
• Jewel by Bret Lott
  
• The Photograph by Penelope Lively
  
• Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
  
• The Way the Crow Flies : A Novel by Ann-Marie MacDonald
  
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
  
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
  
• Shadow Baby by Alison McGhee
  
• While I was Gone by Sue Miller
  
• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
  
• The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
  
• Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore
  
• The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
  
• Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
  
• Paradise by Toni Morrison
  
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
  
• Sula by Toni Morrison
  
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  
• Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
  
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
  
• We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
  
• Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell
  
• Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir
  
• Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
  
• The Dogs of Babel : A Novel by Carolyn Parkhurst
  
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
  
• Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton
  
• The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
  
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
  
• Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
  
• The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
  
• Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt
  
• Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
  
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo
  
• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
  
• Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage
  
• Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
  
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
  
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
  
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
  
• The Sleeping Father by Matthew Sharpe
  
• The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
  
• We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
  
• Balzac & the Little Chines Seamstress by Dai Sijie
  
• Cane River by Lalita Tademy
  
• The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
  
• So Help Me God by Larry Thompson
  
• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
  
• Felicia's Journey by William Trevor
  
• Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay
  
• Montana, 1948 by Larry Watson
  
• Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
  

The following titles are available as part of the new Book Club in a Bag kit. The Kit consists of a tote bag which has ten copies of a book title, as well as a list of discussion questions to get your book club started. Each bag can be borrowed for six weeks. This service is available to all patrons in the Mid-Hudson Library System.

For more information on available titles, click here. If you find a title you would like, ask for help at the circulation desk and a staff member will book the kit for you.

• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Sijie Dai
  
• Bee Season by Myla Goldberg
  
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
  
• Coast Road by Barbara Delinsky [coming soon]
  
• The Color of Water by James McBride
  
• Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
  
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson [coming soon]
  
• Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
  
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo
  
• Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
  
• Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman [coming soon]
  
• Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund
  
• Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
  
• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
  
• The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
  
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
  
• Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou
  
• Here on Earth by Alice Hoffmann
  
• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
  
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote [coming soon]
  
• The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara [coming soon]
  
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossein
  
• The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
  
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
  
• Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani
  
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
  
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
  
• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith [at Stone Ridge circ desk now]
• On Beauty by Zadie Smith
  
• The Orchid Theif by Susan Orlean [coming soon]
  
• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver [coming soon]
  
• The Reader by Bernard Schlink
  
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
  
• Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi
  
• Tara Road by Maeve Binchy
  
• Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay
  
• What's Eating Gilbert Grape? by Peter Hedges
  
• White Teeth by Zadie Smith
  
• Wicked by Gregory Maguire [coming soon]
  
• You Kill Me by Alison Gaylin [coming soon]
  

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

A Summer Read on the Lawn

Tuesday, July 11, 1:30-3pm

An informal discussion with Jody Ford and Diane DeChillo of the much loved The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, Books are available at the circulation desk.

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Knitting Group

Saturdays, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
10am-Noon at the Library

Our knitting group meets every Saturday in the Library's Reference room. All levels are welcome.

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On the Shelves

Poughkeepsie Journal 6.4.06
with Gregory Callahan

Short story collections offer riveting, quick reads

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.

Short story lovers know that this literary form affords special satisfactions. They are often a great way to sample an unfamiliar author's work. And, of course, you can devour a complete literary work in one sitting. Good story anthologies help readers meet both those ends. And they are not hard to come by.

One of the most heavily marketed of anthologies is Houghton Mifflin's annual Best American Short Stories series published at the end of every calendar year. For the 2005 edition, Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Chabon served as guest editor. True to his maverick reputation, Chabon selected a number of unique and engaging short stories. For every story from an august literary magazine (and there are some excellent ones by noted authors such as Joy Williams, Alice Munro and Lynne Sharon Schwartz), there are also daring examples of genre fiction by authors such as Dennis Lehane and Cory Doctorow.

Anchor Books has recently released its 2006 edition of the O. Henry Prize Stories, which even includes one selection previously included in the Houghton Mifflin series. Pulitzer-winner Edward P. Jones' remarkable story of an alienated ex-con, "Old Boys, Old Girls," appears in both volumes -and certainly merits the honor. The works of other acclaimed authors (Munro again, as well as Louise Erdrich) grace these pages, but readers are just as likely to be drawn to the works of lesser-known authors such as Neela Vaswani, Xu Xi and Karen Brown.

The Pushcart Press recently published its 30th volume of Pushcart Prize Winners. This volume is not, strictly speaking, a short story anthology, but rather "the best of the small presses." Fiction is its primary thrust, however, and given its focus on the smaller magazines, it contains a number of surprises. Although well-known authors such as E.L. Doctorow, Cynthia Weiner and Ann Hood have remarkable entries in this volume, many of the best stories included were penned by authors who have yet to achieve household name status.

Tales worth noting

Among some of the better titles in this volume of Pushcart Prize winners are Jim Shepard's fascinating historical tale "Hadrian's Wall"; Gregory Blake Smith's "Presently In Ruins," a haunting tale of assisted suicide; Aimee Bender's disturbing fairy tale "End of the Line"; and Rick Bass' remarkable slice of rural life, "Her First Elk."

Some more specialized literary anthologies provide us with a profound sense of place or culture. That is certainly the case with the recently published Beloved Harlem from Broadway Books. Editor William H. Banks is executive director of the Harlem Writers Guild and has compiled an exhaustive anthology of African-American writers from the turn of the last century to today. Many of the entries are excerpts from larger works, but there are a number of excellent short stories from such writers as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Ann Allen Shockley - all of which deal frankly with the African-American experience. More recent stories by such authors as Andrea Broadwater, Walter Dean Myers and Rosemarie Robotham are equally effective.

My home state of Maine has always had a quiet but substantial literary life. Editor Wesley McNair pays homage to that state's native and imported writers in his recent Contemporary Maine Fiction. Nationally recognized literary stars such as Carolyn Chute, Richard Russo, Richard Ford and, of course, Stephen King have representative works included. But you may find the works of writers less well known outside of the region to be just as compelling. Cathie Pelletier, Monica Wood and Elaine Ford, among others, contribute tales of small-town New England life. Lily King's touching "Five Tuesdays In Winter" has Portland as its setting, but not surprisingly, even in Maine's largest city, a small-town sensibility prevails.

Gregory Callahan has been director of the Hyde Park Free Library since 1999.

Can't decide on what to read? Visit midhudson for links to lists of titles that might attract your interest.

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New Web site is rich resource for Hudson Valley information

Daily Freeman - 6.10.06 - Kathryn Gill

POUGHKEEPSIE - Hudson River Valley Heritage, an Internet resource that allows local residents to easily research their common history, was unveiled at the Samuel Morse Historic Site on Friday during a gathering of librarians, archivists, curators and various intellectual luminaries.

The Web site, www.hrvh.org, has been accumulating digitized collections for about a year and currently contains photographs, maps, multimedia clips, newspaper items, postcards, diaries and other memorabilia from Bard College, the Consortium of Rhinebeck History, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, the Hudson River Valley Institute, the Samuel Morse Historic Site, Vassar College, Wilderstein Preservation, the Coxsackie Heermance Memorial Library, the Chester Historical Society, the Newburgh Free Library, the Library Association of Rockland County, the Orangetown Historical Museum Archives, the Huguenot Historical Society, the Marlboro Free Library, SUNY New Paltz and the Woodstock Library.

In addition to serving the Hudson Valley, the site also has received thousands of hits from foreign countries, administrators say.

The many prominent figures who have called the Hudson Valley their home are well accounted for in the history books, but Hudson River Valley Heritage provides a more detailed, intimate glimpse into their lives by establishing the first network of previously unlinked sources of information.

Ronald D. Paktus, associate director for special collections at Vassar College, said the Hudson River Valley Heritage project began when the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council provided a grant to form a digitization library task force. This pilot project involved three entities: Vassar, Wilderstein Preservation and the Marlboro Public Library.

"Hudson River Valley Heritage identifies with the real uniqueness and personality of our region," Paktus said. "Today is a great occasion where many more institutions have come to take part."

By summer's end, the Columbia County Historical Society, the Dutchess County Historical Society, the Millbrook Free Library, Orange County Community College, the Tuxedo Park Library, the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, the Elting Memorial Library, the West Hurley Public Library, the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, the National Maritime Historical Society and the Somers Historical Society also will be on the Web site.

Tessa Killian, manager of technology and administrative services for the site, showcased the archive's oldest entry - a contract between the Dutch Huguenots and the Esopus Indians for 40 acres that later would form the heart of New Paltz.

"Many people assume important records are found only in large universities," Killian said. Duane Watson, curator of Wilderstein Preservation, said his experience as a founding member of the site has been positive.

"I urge you to consider the benefits reaped by participation," he said to those gathered at Friday's event in Poughkeepsie, citing the higher visibility the site gives to organization as just one of the benefits.

James M. Johnson, executive director of the Hudson River Valley Institute, said the site can help spread the "freedom and dignity" as well as "nature and culture" of the Hudson Valley throughout the world.

"Not everyone can see the historic beauty of the Hudson Valley as we do when we get in our cars today," Johnson said. more

GREAT WEBSITES!

Hudson River Valley Heritage

Provides access to historical materials from the Hudson Valley. The site has "an ever-growing collection of photographs, maps, letters, postcards, manuscripts, scrapbooks, programs from events, memorabilia and ephemera, audio and video clips, and many other materials from local libraries, archives, and museums." See article below. more

Letters to Sala: A Young Woman's Life in Nazi Labor Camps

This exhibit features the letters of a Polish Jewish woman who survived five years in seven Nazi forced labor camps during World War II. "She risked her life to preserve the letters, hiding them during line-ups ... even burying them." Includes images of selected letters accompanied by historical photos and essays on topics such as the Nazi postal system and Jewish holidays. From the New York Public Library. more

Fireworks Photography

Series of three articles on techniques for photographing fireworks displays. Topics include photographing large fireworks displays, taking photos of fireworks with a digital camera, and shooting backyard firework displays. Discusses preparation, equipment, camera settings, choosing subjects, and more. From the New York Institute of Photography. more

First American Art: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection of American Indian Art

Companion to a 2003-2006 Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian exhibit of art that focuses on the collectors' "love of beautiful objects" (rather than objects with historical significance or those that achieve ethnological representation). Features images of items from the collection and short essays on themes such as emotion, movement, and intimacy. Some of the items represented include baskets, moccasins, sculpture, and textiles. more

Can You Afford to Retire?

Companion to a 2006 Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Frontline program that examines the retirement prospects for the baby boomer generation and current issues with pension and 401(k) savings plans. Provides a FAQ about retirement plans, articles, analysis, interviews, retirement stories, a teacher's guide, and readings and links. Includes video of the full program. more

Free Public Records Directory

Collection of links to U.S. federal and state "real and personal property records, recorded documents, jail and inmate records, sex offender records, wanted persons records, and many more free public records." Links are organized by state and county and are searchable by ZIP code or city. Also includes links to news about public records. From a company that provides witness location and skip tracing services. more

Arctic Wildlife Refuge

Background on this national wildlife area in Alaska, portions of which have been considered for drilling of oil and gas reserves. Includes fast facts, a map, a video clip, and material about wildlife (polar bear, musk ox, caribou, spectacled eider, and arctic wolf). From the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which opposes drilling in the refuge. more

City of Stars

Collection of short articles by an urban astrophysicist about how "references to the cosmos actually abound in Manhattan." Includes images of New York City buildings, sculptures, decorations, and architectural elements with astronomical references, and a brief discussion of "Manhattanhenge," a natural phenomenon in which, similar to Stonehenge, "the Sun fully illuminates every single cross street during the last fifteen minutes of daylight and sets exactly on the street's centerline." From the Natural History magazine. more

Cousteau Society: Heritage

Background about French oceanographic researcher and explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, covering his achievements, inventions, ocean journeys on the "Calypso," the TV series "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau," and more. Includes interviews, photos, and a list of Cousteau's films. Note: Use menu bar near top of the page to navigate to most subsections. Also available in French. From the Cousteau Society, France. more

Parkitecture in Western National Parks

Review of early 20th century rustic design and naturalism in architecture in national parks in western states. "Architects, landscape architects and engineers combined native wood and stone with convincingly 'native' styles to create visually appealing structures that seemed to fit naturally within the majestic landscapes." Includes images of gateways, transportation systems, hotels, and more in parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Denali. From the National Park Service (NPS). more

Tax Deductions

Take a deduction for the fair-market value of the items you have recently donated to the Library Fair, or another charity as allowed by the IRS. The Salvation Army's Valuation Guide has a simple list . more

Early Signs: Reports From a Warming Planet

Collection of articles from 2006 about the effects of climate change and global warming on regions throughout the world. Topics include retreating glaciers on Tanzania's Kilimanjaro and in Ecuador, and rising saltwater along the coast of Bangladesh. A joint project of the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Salon, and NPR's "Living on Earth." Note: for nonsubscribers, a brief advertisement appears before the articles display. Includes links to related programs from National Public Radio (NPR). more

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