Westhampton Reads

Mardi Gras Time!

2010-02-03T11:03:00.004-05:00

We are celebrating Mardi Gras this month with a variety of programs and activities including a Dixieland Jazz concert and two cooking classes.

Check out our book display featuring books and movies that take place in about New Orleans.

We have also built a "readers map" style mosaic that will link you to great websites about New Orleans' heritage.

Halloween Fun!

2009-10-22T15:17:00.002-05:00

This is the perfect time of year to re-discover one of America's great literary masters: Edgar Allan Poe.

Click on the link to the Reader's Map and discover routes to different aspects of Poe's work and life.

Edgar Allan Poe Reader's Map

Ice Station Zebra

2009-02-05T19:56:00.004-05:00

Well, it feels like Ice Station Zebra outside, but there is still alot happening at the library. Except of course for my book club "Books and Brew". I wonder if it's the name? The turnout for our last book "Blind Man's Bluff" was somewhat less than I had hoped. At least with the Clive Cusller book one person showed up, granted it was by accident. I am debating as to trying one more time. Chime in here if you have a book sugguestion.

If you're in the mood for a romantic comedy, come check out the display of DVDs in the media section that Nicki put together.

If you like audio books we just got a bunch of new titles on CD as well as a new order of Playaways (those little digital audio books that fit in your pocket). You can see the titles on the "New Items Link" on our homepage.

Don't forget about Long Island Reads, sponsored by the Nassau and Suffolk County Public Library Systems. This year's book is "Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir", a baseball book-just in time for Spring:

‘…Despite family traumas and all those years the Dodgers lost to the Yankees, it is a happy, even a jaunty memoir. “Once I realized what the title should be, it was so clear that’s what the whole book was about,” she said, “not only because of the Dodgers and my own temperament, but there was a larger theme about this country, this kind of resilience, the sense that if you push hard enough, something good will happen, even when life tells you it’s not always true.” *

You can learn more about Long Island Reads at www.longislandreads.org

As for Ice Station Zebra, you can get the book or the Movie (one of Howard Hughes' favorites) through the Library!

January Events!

2009-01-12T15:31:00.004-05:00

New Year, New Building, New Events!

I am not one to blow my own horn, at least not overtly, but I am going to put myself first here. We have a new book club called Books 'n Brew. This is not to be confused with the Books and Brew Coffee house in Eastport. That is just an unfortunate coincidence in name. If we continue on with the program we will change the name, and I am taking suggestions now. The "He Man Book Club" has already been rejected.

The reason for the creation of this new club comes from my conversations with other people who run book clubs. It came to my attention that men, for the most part seemed to stay away. "Perhaps", I thought, "a Jane Austen marathon is not the best way to get the men-folk to the meetings". I devised a plan to have a book club that, though not geared toward men exclusively, (that would be boring, and quite possibly illegal) but would at least have some appeal to the male readers: Adventure, Espionage, Westerns, Non-fiction, and so on.

Last month we read Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler, a Dirk Pitt adventure considered by many to be the best of the series. This Month we will be discussing Blind Man's Bluff by Sherry Sontag. This is true, but reads like fiction story, of submarine warfare and espionage. There is a Reader's Map for this title in the right hand collum of this page. Our book discussion will be Monday, January 26th at 7:00 PM at Simon's Beach Bakery on Main Street. I promise won't talk about our feelings, but we will talk about stuff blowing up.
The Monday Night Book Club hosted by Malinda will be discussing The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander on January 12.

Edgar Allan Poe
We are also celebrating the 200 birthday of the great American author (and inventor of the Detective Story genre) Edgar Allan Poe, with a tea and a read around at the Sunset Cafe on Sunset Ave in Westhampton Beach on January 31 at 2:00.

Fall is Here! We are here!

2008-10-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you were able to get your reading needs met through other outlets for the past few weeks. I promise you we will be back in full swing in a matter of days. We are all looking foward to seeing you all again in our new location.

We have three book clubs meeting This October: The Monday Night Book Club with Melinda will meet Oct 27th at The Open Book on Main Street. She will be discussing The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason.

In October 1886, Edgar Drake receives a strange request from the British War Office: he must leave his wife and his quiet life in London to travel to the jungles of Burma, where a rare Erard grand piano is in need of repair. The piano belongs to an army surgeon-major whose unorthodox peacemaking methods—poetry, medicine, and now music—have brought a tentative quiet to the southern Shan States but have elicited questions from his superiors.

Professor Frank Mosca returns on Thurday Oct. 23 to discuss Demian by Herman Hesse

In Demian, one of the great writers of the twentieth century tells the dramatic story of young, docile Emil Sinclair's descent--led by precocious shoolmate Max Demian--into a secret and dangerous world of petty crime and revolt against convention and eventual awakening to selfhood.

Books and Brew is the newest book club and will led by Jay (me!). The idea of this book club is to find material, both fiction and nonfiction that will appeal particularly to men. Book clubs have not traditionaly been a beg draw for men, let's change that. Of course we welcome everyone.

For our first read I have chosen what many people consider to be Clive Cussler's best "Dirk Pitt" novel Atlantis Found.

We will be meeting at the Sunset cafe (yes,the brew refers to coffee) on Sunset Avenue in Westhampton beach near the 7-11.

Of course we have many new titles in print, CD and Playaway formats.

Summer Reads!

2008-07-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

Summer is in full swing and our tiny town is buzzing with activity. In spite of all the usual Summertime activity, the library is still one of the hottest destinations in town.

Check out our new displays on local history and Long Island fiction, featuring such noted authors as James Patterson, Nelson Demille, and of course F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Nola has put together a month long celebration of Jane Austen. Come and see her display that features not only Jane Austen's novels and film adaptations of her work, but ficton about Jane Austen and the people who love her writing. For more ideas and information about her, click on the "Jane Austen Reading Map" link in the right hand column. There you will find links to explore her life and times.

Our book clubs will be meeting on: Monday July 28th for "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts. The August 25th meeting will discuss "the Jane Austen Book Club", by Karen Joy Fowler.

The Thursday Book Club with Professor Mosca will meet August 25th for William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying.

New Playaways!

2008-04-10T14:05:00.000-05:00

What started out as an experiment is starting to take off! I wondered if people would be interested in a new format for audio books, and I had my doubts. Personally, I fear change and resist it at every opportunity. Just asked my friend who had to pry my last 8-track (Van Halen's Diver Down) out of my hands.

Playaways, the beeper sized (but much lighter) digital audio books are catching on in popularity here at the Westhampton Free Library. We just put a new order out on the shelves and have more on the way. One patron told me she listens while running because the unit is so light. Another told me she listens in bed before she goes to sleep, "it's like someone telling me a story at bedtime" she said.

The growing selection features both popular fiction and non-fiction, and as always we are happy to take suggestions.

There is still time to get in on this year's Long Island Reads book discussion for Aloft by Chang-rae Lee. We will be having our "one island, one book" meeting on Monday April 28th. There are several copies of the book still available behind the circulation desk, so please check one out and join us on the 28th, all are welcome.

Hello Tennessee! & Valnetine's Day....Ha!

2008-02-05T09:46:00.000-05:00

It would be easy, oh so easy to take the path of hearts and cupids for Valentine's day this year. Let's face it, in February, every store display, Hallmark commercial and ad in the paper is geared toward people in love. Well, not everyone is swept up in a romance. Some are in rocky or even dead relationships. There are some among us who must count a cat or an xbox as a significant other, and for whom every commercial for e-harmony feels like lemon juice in a paper cut! We know that for every true romance in one's life there are at least five brutal break-ups, two cases of paralyzation from "fear of commitment" and one death by general mailaise. It is to these people I dedicate this months "Black Valentine's Day" display to. You will find no romance novels here, just titles that look at the other side of romance like: He's Just Not That Into You, The Myth of Monogamy and The Other Woman.

I recently installed software into this blog which allows me to get statistical reports for things like how many people are looking at the site, what part of the world they are from and so on. It is a great way to confirm that there actually are people looking at your site. It was very easy to do, and it was free from Google analytics.
When looking at the Stats yesterday, I found that we recently had a visitor from Tennessee. I don't know what brought them to us but, hello, thanks for coming.

I want to remind everyone that in April for Library Week, we will be participating in the
Long Island Reads program. The motto is "One Island, One Book" and the goal is to get as many people as possible in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to read the same book so we all can have something to talk about on check out lines. This year's book is Aloft by Chang-Rae Lee. Click on the link to find out more information.

Jay

Happy New Year! Books for '08

2008-01-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

This is the time of the year when everybody puts out their "Best of 2007" lists. Best movies, best restaurants, best TV shows, and of course best books. You can check out this months displays to see which authors made the cut.

Of course there are dozens of books in the pipe for the new year. Novels from Anne Rice, Sandra Brown and a short story collection by Joyce Carroll Oats, and non-fiction, by Deepak Chopra, Jimmy Breslin, F. Lee Baily, along with many others will all be released in the coming months.

The question is "which will you make time for?" Some of us here on the staff are voracious readers, (the ladies at the front desk read constantly) while others may only have time for a few books a year.What are you looking forward to? Do you care about the next book James Patterson churns out? Are you a fan of "chick lit" waiting for the new Jennifer Wiener novel, or are you hankering to read the forthcoming Andre the Giant biography? Let us know by clicking on the "comments Link" below. It is a great way to make sure we get what you want, and it might give other readers inspiration to try something new. You can also add what impressed you or disappointed you in the last year.

Jay
Posted by Westhampton Free Library

Reading Maps

2007-12-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed on the right side of the page, two new links under the "Readers Links" heading. They are Reading Maps for two books that can be found in our library. There are more to come, but take a look at these and let us know what you think?

What Are They?

Reading Maps are a visual guide to help a you find your next book, based on your interest in a particular title or subject. What makes these different from offering a "read alike" is they can tie in fiction, non-fiction, movies, audio books, and websites in one easily navigated spot.

How Do I Use Them?

Just click on the link and you will come to a mosaic of book jackets and other images. Guide your cursor over the image to find our more about that title or be connected to a link. All of the images are related to a central theme based on the main image in the middle. It should give you ideas on other places to find more information titles of similar books.

Holiday Reading

2007-12-12T10:26:00.000-05:00

This is truly a festive time of the year, there are lights up on main street, there is a manger and a menorah on the village green, when the snow finally does start to fall ,Westhampton will look like a postcard...more like a postcard.

Why not bring a little intrigue into your holiday with one of our many Christmas mysteries featured on our display shelf by authors such as Ann Perry, Susan Brockman or Mary Higgins Clark.
There does not seem to be any Hanukkah mysteries available (at least none that I could find) so if you are an aspiring writer looking for a niche to fill, that market seems to be wide open.

Please take a look at our revamped "Staff Reccomends" shelf, where you will find books and reccomendations written by our staff members to help you find, "just the right book" when you are stuck.

Monday Night Book Club will not meet in December because of the holidays but will reconviene on January 28th with, The Sea by John Banville

I hope everyone wll enjoy the spirit of this time of year with family and friends, have a happy and safe holiday!
Jay

COLD SNAP

2007-11-07T10:08:00.000-05:00

We are finally feeling our first real fall weather and the holiday season if fast approaching. I hope you enjoyed the Halloween displays that we set up, Jackie did the creepy occult display in the new non-fiction section and Jean took care of the horror shelf.

For a different kind of horror, take a look at some of the "alternative" feast ideas we have put aside for your perusal. We also have more traditional holiday cooking books if you're looking for ideas for your family celebration.

You will also find the Holiday Music collection on the new items shelf in front of the circulation desk.
Book Clubs
This month, the Thursday Book Club with Professor Mosca is meeting on the 8th at 2:00pm and will be discussing Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

The Monday Night Book Club with Malinda will be reading Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks. That meeting will take place 11/26 at 7:00 pm.

As always we are adding new books to our collection almost every day, not only best sellers but a range of titles to appeal to a variety of interests. We can't anticipate the needs of every patron so take advantage of our request forms. If can't find what you're looking for, we encourage you to ask one of our staff members to inter library loan it or submit a request to purchase form at the reference desk.

Fall is upon us!

2007-09-24T13:53:00.000-05:00

Thanks for making the Rock and Roll displays so successful!

Keeping full display of new Rock bios, including the latest books on U2, Springsteen and Warren Zevon, prooved to be difficult. Which in turn, means it was popular. Some material, including concert DVD's (I know you're out there Knack fans!) arrived after the display was taken down, so look for a sequel in the months ahead

We are featuring two new displays, the main showcase reflects the seafaring heritage of Long Island. There are non fiction books about whaling, the golden age of sailing and other things nautical including the new book by Eric Jay Dolin, Leviathan : the history of whaling in America.

Also featured is display of Japanese and Japanese American authors. Nola's Anime and Manga clubs are so popular, I thought showing another side of Japanese culture and writing might be interesting.

There are naysayers who would have me believe that people don't read this post. The lack of response is no indication of actual traffic (not to me anyway). This is, however a perfect time to have your voice heard. We are reevaluating our magazine collection and would welcome suggestions for titles you would like to see in our library, as well as magazines we currently have that you could not bear to part with. The goal is (as always) to have the collection reflect the needs and wants of our patrons, but also to offer items that are unusal and fun.

Jay

We want your feedback

2007-08-08T10:23:00.000-05:00

Hello, it has been a while since our last update so let's get up to speed.

The Monday Book Club is now reading "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. They will meet on August 27th at 7:00 PM

The Thursday Book Club is meeting August 23 at 2:00PM to discuss Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged". Professor Frank Mosca will be leading the discussion. Copies of the book are available at the circulation desk. Registration is recommended.

Check out all the new arrivals on the "new items" link from our home page. We have a great variety of fiction, non-fiction, books on CD and DVDs. Remember, if you don't see what you're looking for we can request it through inter-library loan or patrons can fill out a "request for purchase" form.

We want your feedback regarding the format of the New Items list which is now posted in alphabetical order. Other options are posting by author or subject.

Jay

Explore NoveList

2007-04-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

Tucked away on the bottom right hand corner of our home page is link marked book connection. If you are reading this you have already found it. What you may not have discovered is that this is the path that connects you to one of our favorite tools, NoveList.

NoveList is a powerful readers' advisory tool that enables the user to find books, authors and genres, based on his or her personal taste. Readers can find reviews and annotations from professional journals for over 135,000 novels.

This database also makes it easy to find Read-alikes for authors and titles. For example: if you have read everything that James Patterson had ever written and still crave more. Try the "For Readers" tab on the NoveList main page and use the author read-alike link. From there you will be able to find James Patterson, a short biography and a list of authors and titles that you might enjoy based on your author selection

You can also use NoveList for material to guide your book discussion, find information on a book series, browse by genre and much more. There is also NoveList K-8 for children and young adults.

Take a few minuets to explore this useful tool, you can start by putting in the title of your favorite book in the quick search box. Have fun.

Upcoming Book Discussion

2007-03-05T09:39:00.000-05:00

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Monday March 26 @ 7:00

It is New York City in 1939. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat to date: smuggling himself out of Nazi-occupied Prague. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a collaborator to create the heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit the American dreamscape: the comic book. The tragicomic adventures of a couple of boy geniuses reveal much about what happened to America in the middle of the twentieth century. Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.

Nextreads Book Newsletters

2006-12-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

Having trouble deciding on the next book to read? Get great reading suggestions by email from the Westhampton Free Library when you subscribe to Nextreads newsletters. Over 20 different newsletters on popular fiction and non-fiction topics are avaiable. Visit the Nextreads sign-up page for a list of available newsletters and to subscribe. Newsletters will arrive on a monthly or every other month basis. You can link directly to the library catalog from the book titles in the newsletters, where you can place a hold or request a title immediately. Library patrons without email addresses can take advantage of the lists by viewing them online.

2006-12-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

Upcoming Book Discussion:
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Monday January 29 @ 7:00

In a tale spanning twenty-five years, a doctor delivers his newborn twins during a snowstorm and, rashly deciding to protect his wife from their baby daughter's affliction with Down Syndrome, turns her over to a nurse, who secretly raises the child. New York: Viking, c2005, 401 p. Copies of the book are available at the Circulation Desk.

Upcoming Book Discussions

2006-10-11T12:33:00.000-05:00

If you enjoy reading with a group, why not join one of the Library's book discussion groups? Monday Night Book Group meets the last Monday evening of the month and is a nice group if you like to read good books and socialize with other book lovers. Perhaps you may prefer to join Professor Mosca for insightful lectures and discussion of important novels at our Thursday Book Club which meets one Thursday afternoon a month at the Library. Copies of the books for both groups will be available at the Circulation Desk.

Upcoming Schedule:

Monday Night Book Group
October 30, 7:00 PM. Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant
November 27, 7:00 PM. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
January 29, 7:00 PM. Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
February 26, 7:00 PM. The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

Thursday Book Club
October 19, 2:00 -4:00 PM. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
November 16, 2:00 -4:00 PM. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Online Book Clubs

2006-10-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

Join our book clubs. Each day we'll email you a 5 minute portion of a book. During the week you can read 2-3 chapters and decide if you want to check the book out of the libraary. Every Monday we start new books. Sign up and start reading.