BPL Blog

Posted by JDavanza on Tue, Sep 09
I just read The Secret Scripture and loved it.  A very powerful and moving book that stays with you. Apparently other people, including the judges for Britain’s prestigious Booker Prize think so too. The Secret Scripture was among 6 books recently nominated for the Booker Prize.  Read more in the following link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/books/10book.html?hp
Posted by JDavanza on Tue, Aug 26
____________________________________________________________________________ POWER TO THE POETS Lisa Starr, Rhode Island Poet Laureate and The Writers’ Circle have teamed up to bring poetry programs to communities around the state.  These free programs will reach out to the underserved in homeless shelters, schools, rehabilitation hospitals, community centers, retirement and nursing homes and the veterans’...
Posted by JDavanza on Tue, Aug 26
Event NotebookSeptember 2008 Living History It’s a cliché, of course, that the past can be brought back and made current—but sometimes even clichés are true. This September, Captain Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired)—a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War—will give a first-hand account of his experience as a fighter pilot in Korea. In 1950, Lieutenant Hudner was a Naval Air Station at Quonset Point pilot on the aircraft carrier USS Leyte who made a daring...
Posted by JDavanza on Thu, Aug 14
Director’s notebook  August 2008 One of my favorite types of novels is the kind that tells a story from multiple viewpoints.  This might be through letters, diaries, or narratives from different characters.  The Victorian novelist Wilkie Collins was especially adept at this type of novel: his novels The Woman In White and The Moonstone are classics of the multiple viewpoint novel. Recently I read another novel that makes wonderful use of multiple viewpoint: The Secret...
Posted by JDavanza on Wed, Aug 06
How would you like to stay up-to-date on your reading by receiving a variety of email newsletters ranging from author interviews, to award-winning teen and children’s books, to lists of great new titles on different subjects? With BookLetters, the Library's readers advisory service on books and authors, you can do just that. By signing up for BookLetters you’ll gain access to such features as online book discussions, the hottest new titles and authors, professional reviews of the...
Posted by JDavanza on Thu, Jul 31
I think I get it now. Why there are so many folks out there who LOVE to listen to recorded books.  For the past few days I’ve been having a wonderful time listening to the Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner.  I have been alternating between out loud laughter and intense contemplation about this book which attempts to find and explain why some places in the world appear to be significantly, in fact, even quantifiably, happier than...
Posted by JDavanza on Sat, Jul 26
One gem a day, five days a week. It’s Saturday night. I hear lawn sprinklers and voices outside my window, and the air smells like the sea. More important, I just discovered Very Short List, “a free, daily email that points to excellent new (and sometimes vintage) entertainment and media that haven’t been hyped to within an inch of their lives.” Is it real? Indeed it is. Is it any good? It is very, very good. How it works: Each weekday, we tell our subscribers about a...
Posted by JDavanza on Mon, Jul 21
Y.A. is A.O.K., O.K.? There’s an unfortunate, condescending, knee-jerk reaction to young adult literature out there in the world. People with this attitude believe books written for teen readers lack style and sophistication. But take a look at Margo Rabb’s recent essay in the New York Times, I’m Y.A., and I’m O.K. (may require login). I’m hoping it will change a few minds. To wit: Many adults don’t realize how much the Y.A. genre has changed since their days of reading teenage...
Posted by JDavanza on Thu, Jul 17
In a hurry to read a Bestseller?  For 25 cents a day, you can rent selected bestsellers. Or, you could add your name to reserve lists, and we will contact you when the titles become available for you.
Posted by JDavanza on Thu, Jul 17
Find great book bargains on the shelves of our ongoing book sale.  Adult hardcovers and trade paperbacks sell for $1.00.  Paperbacks and all books for children and young adults sell for 50 cents

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