Staff’s Favorite Books of 2013

January 4, 2014September 16, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

One of the great perks of working in a library is access to copious amounts of books to choose from for our reading pleasure. One of the biggest drawbacks of working in a library is access to copious amounts of books! The Cheshire Library staff love to read and I thought it would be fun for them to list their favorite books they read or listened to in 2013. They were very busy readers! Below is just a sampling of some of the titles our library staff submitted.

Adult Fiction

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

Canada by Richard Ford

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Me Before Youby Jojo Moyes

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

White Dog Fell From the Sky by Eleanor Morse

We Are Water by Wally Lamb

Romance

Bachelor Firemen (series) by Jennifer Bernard

The Bad Boys of Crystal Lake (series) by Julianna Stone

Bad Boys of Red Hook (series) by Robin Kaye

Cowboy Take Me Away by Jane Graves

Free Fall by Catherine Mann

The Sullivan Brothers (series)by Bella Andre

Thrill Rideby Julia Ann Walker

The Way Homeby Cindy Gerard

What She Wants by Sheila Roberts

Whiskey Creek (series)by Brenda Novak

Science Fiction

Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

Mystery

A Book Town Mystery (series) by Lorna Barrett

Killer Librarian by Mary Lou Kirwin

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

A Tea Shop Mystery (series)by Laura Childs

A Witchcraft Mystery (series) by Juliet Blackwell

Audiobooks

The Good House by Ann Leary – Read by Mary Beth Hurt

The Mermaid of Brooklyn by Amy Shearn – Read by Hillary Huber

The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson – Read by Tim Kang, Josiah D. Lee, James Kyson Lee, Adam Johnson

One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson – Read by Bill Bryson

Young Adult

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saena

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Children

Bugs in My Hair! by David Shannon

The Dark by Lemony Snicket

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

I’m A Frog! by Mo Willems

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

What’s Happening at Cheshire Library in January…

January 3, 2014January 2, 2014 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

NEWS AND EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY – JANUARY 2014

Happy New Year! January is shaping up to be a busy month at CPL – here’s what’s happening:

January Movie Matinees

Tuesdays at 1:00pm

January 7 : Lion In Winter

January 14 : Flags of Our Fathers

January 21 :Suspicion

Cheshire Cats Classics Club

Wednesday, January 15, 7:00pm.

This month we are discussing one of the great classics of the English language, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Set near the end of the 14th century, 29 travelers from vastly differing backgrounds set out one April for Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas Beckett. Travel is arduous and wearing, so to maintain their spirits this band of pilgrims entertains each other with a series of tall tales that span the spectrum of literary genres. Five hundred years later people are still reading The Canterbury Tales.This month’s book is available to check out at the library. Please join us! To register, please visit our website.

Powerful Positive Thinking

Thursday January 16 7:00pm

Speaker Diane Frankel-Gramelis is director of Community Education at Milford Hospital and a Health & Wellness Educator at Yale New Haven Hospital and other institutions. She has been designing and implementing health and wellness programs for over 25 years. Diane has a dynamic and varied background in childbirth, parenting counseling, stress management and health promotion; she is an empowering wellness speaker, bringing warmth, wisdom and real-life solutions to her audience. To register, please visit our website.

Guitar and Mandolin featured in January Sunday Showcase

Sunday, January 26, 4:00pm

Husband and wife duo Judy Handler and Mark Levesque blend Brazilian, Latin American, swing, gypsy, classical and folk music influences to create their sophisticated and expressive arrangements. Audiences respond with great enthusiasm to their extraordinary sound and the uplifting spirit of their music. They have performed over 1,500 concerts together throughout the Northeast and Midwest. All ages welcome – no registration required.

Free Video Production Training and Facilities at Cox Communications – Tuesday January 28, 7:00 pm.

Cheshire Library will present David Smith, Cox Communications Cheshire Public Access, on Tuesday January 28 at 7:00pm. Mr. Smith will discuss the video production training and equipment that Cox Communications offers free of charge to residents of Cheshire, Southington and Meriden. This includes the use of field equipment, studio production and video editing. Mr. Smith will also answer any questions participants may have about Cox’s local facility. To register, please visit our web site .

Chocolate for Valentine’s Day!

Thursday, January 30, 7:00pm

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, many of us wonder what kind of goodies we can easily make as gifts for family and friends. Think chocolate! Long time chef and chocolate expert Maria Brandriff will demonstrate both some decadent truffles and some healthier chocolate treats in a program entitled Chocolate for the Holidays. Recipes and ample samples will be available. Space is limited. To register, please visit our website.

Children’s Programs

Monday/Tuesday Storytime

Mondays-January 6, 13, 27, February 3, 10

Tuesdays- January 7, 14, 21, 28, February 4, 11

10:00 – 10:30 AM

Stories, songs, rhymes and a craft.Enhances children’s literacy and social skills. Children may stay with the librarian without parent or caregiver to create a sense of independence.

For ages 3-kindergarten

Mother Goose Time

Wednesdays-January 8, 15, 22, 29, February 5, 12

Session 1-9:30-9:55 AM (for children ages birth to 24 months)

Session 2-10:00-10:25 AM (for children ages 2-3)

Register for Session 2

Stories, songs and fingerplays that help develop speech and social skills. Children attend with a parent/caregiver.

Family Time

Thursdays-January 9, 16, 23, 30, February 6, 13.

10:00 – 10:55 AM

Age-appropriate toys, craft activity, games and books. Provides opportunities for socialization and development of fine and gross motor skills. For children ages 1-3 with parent/caregiver. Register.

Gizmos, Gadgets and Goo: Mad Scientists’ Club

Thursdays, 3:45-4:45 PMThis hands-on, one-hour science program offers children a chance to see just how cool science can be! For grades 3-6.
Select Track A or B (the programs will be duplicated).

The following programs do not require registration:

Builders’ Brigade

Wednesday January 8, 22, 4:00-5 PM. For all ages.

If you love to create masterpieces with LEGO® bricks or MEGA BLOKS®, then this program is perfect for you! This program is geared toward kids ages 7 and up, but younger builders are also welcome!

Bookmarks Book Club

Tuesday January 21, 4:00 PM Grades 1-3

Tween Book Club

Tuesday January 28, 4:00 PM Grades 4-6.

Fab Film Saturday

“Turbo” Saturday, January 11, 2:00 PM. All ages.

Schedule subject to change
See our calendar for more information or check the KIDS’ PAGE on the library website!

Just For Teens

Please join us for the following teen programs:

Cheshire Anime Club – Friday, January 17, 3:00 pm

Anime Club Xtra – Tuesday, January 7, 6:00 pm

Teen games, drop-in – Fridays, January 3, 10, 24 at 2:30 pm

Yu-Gi-Oh: It’s Time to Duel – Friday, January 31, 2:30 pm

See the library’s teen page or the calendar for more information!

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Local Newspapers Available on Library Website

Want to check up on a news event from yesterday, last year, or even as far back as 25 years ago?

Then Cheshire Library has an online resource for you.

Cheshire residents have access to articles from the following Cheshire-area newspapers: Cheshire Herald 2007 to present; Meriden-Record Journal 12/7/1997 to present; New Haven Register 1988 to present. This Newsbank database is indexed and searchable, and provides full-text articles from electronic editions.

To access Cheshire-area newspaper archives, online:

Go to the Cheshire Library homepage: www.cheshirelibrary.org
Mouse over the Research tab
Click on Newspapers and Magazines
Select the title you wish to search
Enter your Cheshire Library card number

If you have any questions, call the library’s Reference Department at 203-272-2245, ext. 4.

Federal and Connecticut State Tax Forms Available

Federal and State tax forms and instruction booklets will be available in the Reference Department located on the Library’s lower level. Forms will be delivered to the library throughout the month of January, but please note that the library does not receive all forms and cannot guarantee when forms will be available. Please call (203-272-2245, ext 4) to determine if a particular form or booklet is in stock.Federal forms may be downloaded at http://www.irs.gov/Forms-&-Pubs.Connecticut state tax forms may be downloaded at http://www.ct.gov/drs/cwp/view.asp?a=1509&q=443200

From the Director’s Desk:

—Technology Survey on Library Website

We are writing our first Technology Plan and need your help to determine the best technology services for our library. The Impact Survey, developed by staff of the University of Washington Information School, ask how you use or would use various library technology services such as public computers, wireless networks, online resources, digital literacy training, etc. The survey will take about ten minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for your time!

Technology Survey

—Zinio Downloadable Magazines

I am completely hooked on Zinio, the library’s downloadable magazine service and want to tell everyone how terrific it is! Haven’t tried it?

Just go to Zinio on the library’s website and sign up with your Cheshire library card. Over 60 popular magazines are available. Need some help getting started? Check out the library’s “Downloadables” page.

Ramona Burkey
Director
Cheshire Public Library

Foreign Language Books for the Younger Set

January 2, 2014July 2, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Did you know that there is a small collection of nonfiction books, picturebooks, and chapter books in the children’s section in languages other than English? From dictionaries to long time children’s favorites, we have something to interest most readers that either speak two or more languages or want to learn. We also have some DVD’s to teach foreign languages to children, or adults like myself that have trouble learning new language. Here is a small selection of the books from some of the languages we have on the shelf.

French:
ABC x 3 : English, Español, Français by Marthe Jocelyn and Tom Slaughter.
French Phrase Book by Jane Wightwick and Wina Gunn with illustrations by Leila Gaafar and Robert Bowers.
Bonsoir Lune by Margaret Wise Brown with illustrations de Clement Hurd.
Babar a New York by Laurent de Brunhoff.
Le Hibou et la Poussiquette (freely translated into French from the English of Edward Lear’s “The owl and the pussy-cat.”) with illustrations by Barbara Cooney.
Le Bon Lion by Louise Fatio with images by Roger Duvoisin.

Spanish
Nancy la Elegante by Jane O’Connor with illustrations by Robin Preiss Glasser, translation by Liliana Valenzuela.
De Colores (Bright with colors) pictures by David Diaz.
Me llamo Gabito: la Vida de Gabriel García Márquez (My Name is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez) by Monica Brown and illustrated by Raúl Colón.
El Ratoncito de la Moto by Beverly Cleary with translation by Lydia Permanyer Netto
La Ardilla Listada by Patricia Whitehouse with translation by Patricia Abello
Te Amo, Bebé, Little One by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Maribel Suárez.
La Araña muy Ocupada by Eric Carle.
Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal by J.K. Rowling and translation by Alicia Dellepiane

Chinese
Milet Picture Dictionary, English-Chinese text by Sedat Turhan and illustrations by Sally Hagin.
To Grandmother’s House: A Visit to Old-Town Beijing with text and photographs by Douglas Keister.

Hebrew
The Jewish kids’ Hebrew-English Wordbook by Chaya M. Burstein.
Count Your Way Through Israel by James Haskins,

Italian
My First Book of Italian Words by Katy R. Kudela with translation by Translations.com.
Count Your Way Through Italy by Jim Haskins with illustrations by Beth Wright
Italian Bilingual Dictionary: A Beginner’s Guide in Words and Pictures by Gladys C. Lipton and John Colaneri.

Japanese
My First Book of Japanese Words by Katy R. Kudela with translations by Translations.com
Where Are You Going? To See My Friend!: A Story of Friendship in Two Languages by Eric Carle
A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (Sabaku ni Saita Himawari) by Amy Lee-Tai
Count Your Way Through Japan by James Haskins

For even further language resources come check out our foreign language shelf in the children’s room, the instructional DVD’s, or either of the two electronic resources our library offers access to; Muzzy Online and Transparent Language Online.

O, The Oprah Magazine Picks 10 Best Books of 2013

December 31, 2013September 16, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

O, The Oprah Magazine has highlighted some wonderful books throughout the year, but has chosen the following as the 1o Best Books of 2013.

The Isle of Youth by Laura van den Berg – This book explores the lives of women mired in secrecy and deception. From a newlywed caught in an inscrutable marriage, to private eyes working a baffling case in South Florida, to a teenager who assists her magician mother and steals from the audience, the characters in these bewitching stories are at once vulnerable and dangerous, bighearted and ruthless, and they will do what it takes to survive.

Country Girl: A Memoir by Edna O’Brien – A rich and heady accounting of the events, people, emotions, and landscape that have imprinted upon and enhanced one lifetime.

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert – A story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia.

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell – A magical new collection of short stores.

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner – The riveting story of a young artist and the worlds she encounters in New York and Rome in the mid-1970s—by turns underground, elite, and dangerous.

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride – The story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Brown’s antislavery crusade—and who must pass as a girl to survive.

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer – The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith – A brilliant mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel’s suicide.

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver – A collection of new and favorite poems, celebrating the dogs that have enriched the poet’s world.

The Woman Who Lost Her Soul by Bob Shacochis – In riveting prose, Shacochis builds a complex and disturbing story about the coming of age of America in a pre-9/11 world.

Susan Reads: The Smartest Kids in The World

December 29, 2013December 11, 2013 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

America’s schools are abysmal; in the world arena, our students barely break the top 20, ranking down there with Lichtenstein – and private prep schools aren’t significantly better. In fact, America scores only seven points higher than dead center. We blame poverty, we blame spending, we blame teachers, parents, curricula, lack of diversity – but no one has come up with an actual plan that works.

In The Smartest Kids in the World, Time journalist Amanda Ripley follows three American exchange students of different backgrounds to some of the highest-scoring countries in the world – laid-back Finland (#3), the pressure-cooker of South Korea where students are in school more than 14 hours a day (#2), and upcoming Poland (#15), which, despite poor standing as a poverty-stricken, post-communist country, managed to climb from the bottom to the top ranks in only three years because of drastic and ongoing reforms.

Not everything is rosy in all places; there are still pitfalls to each system, but one thing remains common to all good systems: value the education. When anyone in America becomes a teacher because they want to be a sports coach, there’s a problem. All top countries made it extremely difficult to become a teacher – thus, only the top teachers actually make it to the classrooms. Sports are not included in school; they are strictly extra-curricular. Teachers are paid very well for making it that far – and if their students slide, they can be fired far easier than in America – why keep a bad teacher? Seriously – why do we do that? In most of these places, the teacher is not the focus. It is not about holidays, or length of day, or passing endless standardized tests: it’s about imparting learning to the child. Education is about the child’s learning, and nothing else.

Ms. Ripley’s research illuminates what is wrong with our educational system, and lays out a course to work towards fixing it. This book is a fantastic wake-up call to educators of all children, from Pre-K to college. It’s a fast, easy read that will leave you very angry with the status quo. – a must-read for anyone concerned about the state of education in America.

Go. Read it. And start bugging your schools.