Dear Reader: Help for gift giving

You have to buy a present for a niece or nephew, the child of a good friend, or a distant young relative. You’d like to give a book, but which one? You don’t know this child very well. Here are a couple of lists that you might find useful:

Best Nonfiction To Give To kidsYou Don’t Know Very Well
Best Books to Give to Older Kids or Young Adults
Best Books to Give to Younger Kids
Best Easy-To-Read books to Give Kids

All of these lists are thanks to Lisa von Drasek at the Early Word Blog.

Dear Reader: Yoiks!

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve updated the blog, and for that I apologize. The Friends had their annual Open House, and we had a record number of items donated for the Silent Auction. We missed the Girl Scout carol singers this year, but we hope to have them back for next year’s Open House.

For the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, we will be closed on Monday, Dec. 24, Tuesday Dec. 25, Monday Dec. 31, and Tuesday, Jan.1. Your books should not be due those days, unless they came from other libraries who will be open on the 24th or 31st. Please note the due dates on your receipts, or check your account online through SAILS or Bookmyne. Call us if you have any questions.

The Council On Aging is holding a fund-raiser for their Building Fund on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 9-3. Bring your unwrapped gifts to the Senior Center, and they will wrap them for you, for a fee of $1.00 – $8.00, depending on the size of the gift. Sounds like a good deal to me, seeing as my present wrapping looks like a two-year-old did it. Save time and help a good cause!

The Cafe Parlez 2013 reading list has been published. Find it HERE. And watch this space for the Plumb Library Staff Top Ten Books of 2012.

We have replaced our 2005 and 2009 World Book Encyclopedias with the new 2013 edition. So we’re selling the old ones for $100/set. They are complete sets, in excellent (nearly new) condition. Call us if you’re interested. We will also donate a set to a school, if they need one. Just let us know.

And finally, for you Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, we have an article from the blog BoingBoing about the weather events that make up her memoir The Long Winter, where the residents of the town of DeSmet nearly starved to death one extreme winter. The Meteorology of the Little House Books talks about that winter, which was 1880-1881. A very interesting read!

November Newsletter

Neither hurricane nor story time nor Halloween ghosts will stop us from putting out the newsletter. Here’s the latest news from Plumb Library. Inside you’ll find the November book group selections; two book reviews from the Junior Friends (one is in code); Holiday Open House announcement and request for Silent Auction items; two Family Literacy Month programs; and the annual wreath order form.

The literacy month program that has us the most excited is a visit from the author of The Mighty Mastiff of the Mayflower, Peter Arenstem. Peter is an expert on the Mayflower, and has written several children’s books about the Plimoth colony. He will be at the library on Monday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. to talk about his book and to sign copies. This is a great gift for children in grades 2-4.

Dear Reader: random posts

It’s a grey and gloomy day. Here are some random links to get you through it:
From Goodreads: The Reading Habits of Democrats and Republicans. And remember that the two Plumb Library book groups have groups on Goodreads.

From NPR, via Bookshelves of Doom: Reading Jane Austen makes your brain work differently. I heard this report this morning on “Morning Edition”, so I’ve just started Pride and Prejudice AGAIN. Maybe this time it will stick.

And lastly,from Hairpin, Texts from Little Women. Hilarious.

“Little Women” from 1933, featuring Katherine Hepburn as the best movie Jo.

Dear Reader: An update

1. We had a successful book sale, and netted over $700. Thanks to all who participated! Next up: the Holiday Open House on Dec. 1. We will start collecting items for the popular Silent Auction. Your Knitting Library Director is currently working on two scarves: a Hunger Games illusion scarf, and a leaf lace cotton green scarf.

2. On Saturday, we had the Summer Reading Program wrap-up celebration. 95 people showed up! Wow! Participants picked up their prizes and certificates. Congratulations to the winners! Look for a report in this week’s Wanderer.

3. Your Friends membership is up for renewal (assuming you are a member of the Friends) in October. Watch for your renewal form in the mail, and return it promptly. Your membership fee is tax-deductible.

4. On Monday 9/24 at 6:30, there will be a program on the book He’s Still Here, by local author Margaret McGee. She will be talking about this book, her journey from grief to healing, and about the Brendan McGee Music Scholarship Fund. Books will be available for signing, and there will be refreshments.

5. The Nonfiction Book Discussion Group “Just the Facts” will be starting again this Thursday at 6:30, discussing the book A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord, the classic book about the sinking of the Titanic. For the full list, go to our Goodreads page here. Please join us any time.

Book sale weekend

Well, folks, it’s Book Sale weekend in our fair area. First, there’s the Friends of Plumb Library sale, Saturday from 9-3 at the Congregational Church Fellowship Hall (11 Constitution Way, for your GPS). We’ve got a great selection of titles, plus some games and who-knows-what-all. There’s a Buck-a-Bag sale from 2-3. After that, there’s the Mattapoisett Library’s monthly book sale, just a hop, skip, and a jump down the road, on Barstow Street in Mattapoisett. For lunch, there’s the Apple-Peach Festival in Acushnet on Main Street. End your day at the Acushnet Library’s book sale (also ends at 3), down Main Street after the Town Hall. It’s supposed to be great weather, good day for a drive around, pick up some great bargains, and help three libraries at once. You can go home with your apples and peaches, read your new books, and feel good about yourself.

People ask us about the leftovers from book sales. For us, all of the childrens and teen titles, plus some paperbacks and all games and puzzles, will go to Gifts to Give in New Bedford. The other books will be taken to recycling by the town.

September newsletter

Here is the September newsletter. In it, you’ll find: requests for volunteers for the Friends Book Sale; the titles for Cafe Parlez and “Just the Facts” book discussion groups; Mary McGhee’s book signing on Sept. 20; the “Never Stop Learning” discussion group on the North Pole explorations on the 13th; the summer program wrap-up and pictures; and a call for potential Junior Friends. Two corrections: the dance studio that performed “Gwendolyn the Graceful Pig” was Erica’s Dance Studio, not Elaine’s; and Mrs. Morris at RMS read for 335 hours, not 225.

Dear Reader: Enough with the rain!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and enjoyed the Rochester Country Fair. I’ve heard that the new grounds work out very well, and should make for wonderful future Fairs. This weekend was not quite a washout, and a big thank you to everyone who braved the weather and attended.
The next thing coming up for the Friends is the book sale. We’re looking for volunteers, as I said in my last post. Families are welcome to sign up, too. Talk to the staff at the desk, or to any member of the Friends board (Linda Medeiros, Lisa Wallbridge, Sheryl Aguiar, or Stephanie Underhill).

If you read and enjoyed Dave Eggers Zeitoun, you might be interested in some controversies surrounding both the subject of the book, and the Zeitoun Foundation. There’s a good roundup here: Zeitoun Foundations Finances: An Investigation, from the Reluctant Habits website.

Thanks to Early Word blog, we have the : Season 3 Downton Abbey Trailer. Looks like the financial crisis at the end of WWI catches up with the Downton Abbey residents.

Jean Merrill, author of The Pushcart War, and Remy Charlip, author and illustrator, died last week. His book Arm in Arm was a favorite in my house for a long time.

And speaking of Jean Merrill, her book is mentioned in this fun list from Flavorwire: 10 of the Greatest Underdogs in Literature. Also mentioned: Ender Wiggin, Harry Potter, and Taran. Big agree on those choices!

Dear Reader: I’m Back!

I’ve returned from the Great White North, where we missed the icebergs, but saw moose, minke and humpback whales, puffins, murres, kittwakes, salmon, and loads of gorgeous scenery. It’s good to be

Yep, saw a bunch of these.

home. Here are a few things to ponder on this beautiful Friday:

The Rochester Country Fair is this weekend, and the Friends will be there on Saturday only with their booth. They’ll be selling some used books, their new tote bags (5 pockets, zipper closing, stain resistant), book journals, and raffle tickets for a new tote bag filled with Friends items and books. Due to lack of volunteers for Sunday, they’ll be there only the one day, so be sure to stop by. This is the first year in the new location for the fair, and it sounds like it will be bigger and better than ever. Don’t miss it!

The Friends are looking for volunteers for the upcoming book sale. The dates are Friday, 9/7, starting at 10:30 for packing up and moving the boxes to the church hall; 11 – 4 for unpacking and sorting; 6-8 for selling at the Friends preview sale; Saturday 9/8 from 9-3 for helping with the book sale; 3-4 for packing and moving everything back to the library. Volunteers get 50% off their purchases. Drop by the library or call to sign up. You can also email info@plumblibrary.com. Helpers with pickup trucks or vans especially needed for Friday and Saturday afternoon.

The last day to record reading hours for the Summer Reading Program is Saturday, 8/25. The readsinma website will be shut down after that day. Miss Lisa will be at the school to give out any awards.

First day of school is 8/28, and we have something for the parents. After you drop your child off at school, come by the library for a cup of coffee, some pastry, and a chat. Yes, it’s the “Back to School Kaffeeklatsch” again, from 9-10:30 a.m. Younger siblings are welcome. Refreshments are provided by the Friends of Plumb Library.

The Nonfiction Book Group will start again on September 20, and the first selection, A Night to Remember by Walter Lord, is ready for pickup. This is the classic book about the sinking of the Titanic.

March over to the library Now!

And one more thing, just for fun. From The Atlantic, here’s a list of 10 movies you probably didn’t realize were originally books. I knew about Howl’s Moving Castle, by one of my favorite authors Diana Wynne Jones, and Road to Perdition, but not about Dr. Strangelove, or Die Hard. How many did you know about?

Dear Reader: Going on vacation edition

I’m off for the next two weeks, but here is an interesting article for you to read, about boys and reading: BOYS AND BOOKS. It quotes author Jon Scieszka, who has been speaking for a long time about the disparity between boys’ and girls’ reading. It has long been Common Wisdom that most reluctant readers are boys; that boys will read books with boy protagonists, but girls will read books not matter what the sex of the protagonist; that boys mostly like nonfiction or graphic novels. Schools need to pay attention to this. Another solution is for boys to see the men in their lives reading anything: newspapers, magazines, books. They rarely do. It’s a viscous cycle.
More reading: Here is our August Newsletter: Plumb Library News. The Friends are looking for a few good friends to help with the Country Fair in August, and the book sale in September. “Gwendolyn the Graceful Pig” will be visiting us on August 13 at 6:30, as author David Rottenburg reads from his book while local student dancers interpret the story. The Nonfiction Book group’s September title A Night to Remember arrives on Aug. 15. There are pictures from the Stuffed Animal Sleepover, and much more.

Greg McAdams will be performing his Team Magic magic show at the Congregational Church Fellowship Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 4:00. All children are invited to attend, whether or not they’re in the Summer Reading Program. This is rescheduled from June, due to low attendance.

Remember to keep reading and logging. The Summer Program is officially over on Aug. 23, so you’re not done yet! I’ll be reading, in between looking at icebergs and puffins. Have fun!