The Collected Short Stories of Richard Yates Introduction by Richard Russo (Regional)

Cold Spring Harbor by Richard Yates (Regional)

LIars in Love by Richard Yates (Regional)

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

The Best American Short Stories of the Century Edited by John Updike (short stories collection)

Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker (short stories collection)

The Norton Book of American Short Stories edited by Peter S. Prescott (short stories collection)

Books discussed, but only available through inter-library loan: Eleven Kinds of Loneliness, The Easter Parade, Revolutionary Road all by Richard Yates and A Tragic History a biography of Yates.

http://www.tbns.net/elevenkinds/elevenkinds.index.html

http://www.richardyates.org/

http://www.pshares.org/issues/article.cfm?prmArticleID=128

http://archive.salon.com/books/review/2001/06/19/yates/

Articles from the Vermont Online Library:

Wings of Silence: Motorless Flight Yields a Touch of the Spiritual. National Geographic Traveler 20.7 (Oct 2003): p.97

Gliding With Precision: When Your Single’s Engine Quits, You Become the Pilot of a Fairly Lousy Glider. How to Make the Most of Your Altitude, the Energy Source now Keeping You Aloft. Aviation Safety Magazine (Oct 2007): p. 4-7

Catch the Wind: How Wind can Keep Gliding Machines up in the Air; Science Experiment. Science Matters: Adaptations, Wind, Space and energy Sources, a Weekly Reader Publication. Weekly Reader Corp. Jan 1993. p. 10 (3)

Catch the Earth Wind! Why Wind Patterns are Different in Different Parts of the Earth; Science Experiment. Science Matters: Adaptations, Wind, Space and energy Sources, a Weekly Reader Publication. Weekly Reader Corp. Jan 1993. p. 14 (3)

all from the Vermont Online Library call and ask for the password for access to 100,000,000 articles!

Once Upon a Thermal by Richard A. Wolters (797.5)

Half Mile Up Without an Engine: The Essentials, the Excitement… by Robert Gannon (Regional)

Free Flight  by Douglas Terman (Regional-Fiction)

SierraSierra by John Joss (fiction, not circulating, loan from D.E.)

Flying Sailplanes by Helmut Reichmann (non-fiction, not circulating, loan from D.E.)

Cross-Country Soaring by Helmut Reichmann (non-fiction, not circulating, loan from D.E.)

The Art and Technique of Soaring by Richard A. Wolters (797.5)

The Joy of Soaring: A Manual of Instruction by Carle Conway (797.5)

Silence on Plane by Bernard Désestrés (non-fiction, not to circulate, loan from D.E.)

Information on local soaring resources

French Lessons by Peter Mayle (641, audio CD)

Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs (598.2, audio CD)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (fiction, audio CD)

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith (fiction, audio CD)

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich (fiction, audio CD)

Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad  and the War for the Soul of America by Fergus M. Bordewich (973.7, audio CD)

Through a Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon (fiction, audio cassettes)

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian will be discussed on May 15, Thursday, 7PM at the Warren Public Library. Join us!

The Nature of Things: A Collection of Articles and Poems by Ann B. Day

Poetry Through the Seasons: Engagement Calendar by Ann B. Day

Poetry Journal for the Seasons by Ann B. Day

New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver

New and Selected Poems Volume Two by Mary Oliver

Owls and other Fantasies: Poems and Essays by Mary Oliver

Judevine by David Budbill

From Down to the Village by David Budbill

Moment to Moment: Poems of A Mountain Recluse by David Budbill

Brighten the Barn by the Mad River Valley Poets

Begin Again: Collected Poems by Grace Paley

From May Sarton’s Well: Writings of May Sarton, Selection and Photographs by Edith Royce Schade

To submit your poetry to The Lyric:
Jean Mellichamp Milliken, Editor
The Lyric
PO Box 110
Jericho Corners, VT 05465

The World of Van Gogh 1853-1890 by Robert Wallace

Van Gogh: Paintings, Drawings and Prints; 108 Reproductions Selected and Introduced  by Brian Petrie 

Van Gogh (The Great Artists) 

Making Color Sing by Jeanne Dobie 

The Simple Secret to Better Painting by Greg Albert

The Century of the Impressionist by Raymond Cogniat 

Last chance to participate in The Big Read book discussions will be March 12 at the Joslin Memorial Library, 7 PM. We have several copies of The Maltese Falcon available so come and pick one up if you haven’t yet read it. Also coming up is Jennifer McMahon, (Promise Not to Tell) Vermont writer, talking about her craft on March 11, at the Warren Public Library and our next book discussion in the mystery series, Bangkok 8 by John Burdett. There are still a few copies available of Burdett’s book.

Books I’ve read (or heard) in the last two weeks include:

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell. This haunting novel tells the story of a teenager who misbehaves and ends up spending the next 60 years in an insane asylum. Her sudden reappearance reveals more than one awful family secret. I think this would make a wonderful book group read when it comes out in paperback.

The Queen’s Handmaiden by Jennifer Ashley. Queen Elizabeth I as seen by her dressmaker. One problem with writing historical novels about fairly well-documented events is that many readers will already know the plot. I’d recommend the novel to anyone interested in a good story about exciting events who hasn’t already read a biography of any of the main characters.

The Woman Driver by Jean Thompson. I bought this book based on a patron request. The book was published in 1985, but has aged well. A story of “true” love from the viewpoint of the “other woman” with some painful twists, by an excellent writer.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver (Audio CD or book). Eating locally explained in practice by the well-known novelist and her family. The book has been out ever since we acquired it, but the audio edition has been available occasionally. Highly recommended!

The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman. A history of the triumph of the Neo-Conservative movement written by a long-time liberal. What I found most interesting is his claim that the Republicans have depended mainly on the politics of race to win elections and that this strategy is running out of steam. Read it for yourself and let me know if you think he makes a solid case.

The Man Who Killed Shakespeare by Ken Hodgson. I enjoyed this book, but I cannot understand why it is described on the cover as a “rollicking yarn.” True, there are some funny moments, but the story takes place in the Depression, against a backdrop of hunger and despair, so the humor is dark. Shakespeare is a dying town, hoping to be revived by a gold mine, only the mine owner is a scam artist, but he gets taken in by some other con men, and then there is a very nice lady named Delight who is practicing a very old profession and a bartender whose cooking may be fatal—but the best player is a dog named Wesley with a talent for killing rattlesnakes.

Plus one DVD documentary:Victory at Sea Volume III (DVD). Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 were kindly donated to the library by a patron a while back and I finally got around to plopping it into my DVD player. An impressive documentary with music by Richard Rodgers and great battle scenes. I was interested to spot a few black soldiers, in the midst of a mostly white army and also interested to see that the documentary avoided racist slurs against the Japanese.See you at the library!

Build It Better Yourself: From Garden Tools to Livestock Housing, from Planters to Lawn Furniture, Practical Projects for the Homestead, Yard and Garden by the Editors of Organic Gardening and Farming (681.7)

Modern Carpentry: Building Construction Details in Easy-to-Understand Form by Willis H. Wagner (694)

Outdoor Woodwork: 16 Easy-To-Build Projects for Your Yard & Garden by Alan and Gill Bridgewater (684.1)

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Everything Sold in Hardware Stores by Tom Philbin & Steve Ettlinger (683)

How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings by Monte Burgh (690)

The Art of the Stonemason by Ian Cramb (693)

The Forgotten Art of Building a Stone Wall: An Illustrated Guide to Dry Wall Construction by Curtis P. Fields (717)

Building Green: A Complete How-To Guide to Alternative Building Methods: Earth Plaster, Straw Bale, Cordwood, Cob, Living Roofs by Clarke Snelle & Jim Callahan (690)

Restoring Old Houses: A Guide for the Self-Builder and Building Professional by Arthur W. Landry (690)

Plumbing: Basic, Intermediate & Advanced Projects by Merle Henkenius (696)

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Marrying the Mistress by Joanna Trollope

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon (also available as audio CD)

Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare (Video version by Zeffirelli, also available as book)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks

Gigi (video)

The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones

Peony in Love by Lisa See

Blessed are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (on audio MP3-CD)

About Alice by Calvin Trillin

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (also audio tape)

On Writing by Stephen King (also audio tape)

Changing media are a big problem for libraries. We don’t get double the shelf space because cars start coming equipped with CD players instead of cassette players, nor an extra few hundred a year to transform our huge video collection into a DVD collection. There are still some patrons who listen to books on cassette and I’m still trying to serve their needs. My less than ideal solution is to buy books on cassette when they are on sale, and to ask the patrons which books they would really like to hear. Do you still want books on cassette? Drop into the library and look at the new acquisitions. Tell me what you like to listen to, and I’ll try to get some of your choices the next time a sale flyer comes into the library.On the bright side, downloadable audio books are coming soon. I’m doing a training session next week and I should be able to show people how to use the service by the end of the month. This will add hundreds of new titles to our audio collection without requiring additional shelf space. I’m planning to get some MP3 players to loan out…but I’m not sure what to ask for as a security deposit…drop in and make a suggestion!

The Pursuit of Happyness (DVD). We also have the book in our collection. The true story of a father who stayed with his son when things got really, really tough. Homelessness in San Francisco and the first steps on the upward path that led to riches for the struggling salesman. I enjoyed the extras on the DVD, including an interview with Chris Gardner.

Bobbie Faye’s Very (very, very, very) Bad Day by Toni McGee Causey. Bobbie Faye is the female equivalent of the Southern Good Ol’ Boy. She lives in a trailer, has relatives who get into trouble, is the Queen of the Lake Charles Contraband Days Festival, and is always broke. But Bobbie Faye is also the queen of the unexpected disaster. The day starts with her trailer flooding from a malfunctioning washing machine, then her brother gets kidnapped by criminals, next she gets sucked into a bank robbery…excellent entertainment.

Sense and Sensibility (DVD). A lovely patron donated the Ang Lee, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant version of the movie adapted from the novel by Jane Austen. Yummy!

Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen by Julie Powell. Everyone has already read this, but if you haven’t, it is about Julie’s attempt to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child’s classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. During the year she also masters blogging, suffers through some major disasters, and doesn’t entertain Judith Jones to dinner (weather intervened).

The Silk Train Murder by Sharon Rowse. First novel set in Vancouver in 1899 has a colorful cast of characters and a fairly well-plotted mystery. I enjoyed the novel, but it is clearly the set-up for a series, which is sort of irritating. The marketing plan shouldn’t be visible in the plot, in my opinion. See you at the library!