Fireside Chat

Our next Fireside Chat will be Friday, February 29, 2010, at 3 p.m. Relax as we introduce some of the newest books available at the Riverhead Free Library--the latest fiction and non-fiction--including mysteries, gripping true adventure tales, self-help, biographies, and much, much more. Here's a sampling...
Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness by Ariel Gore is sure to please those tired of searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Gore asks the question: "Can a woman be smart, empowered, and happy?" Determined to find out, she chronicles her inquiry with curiousity and humor. Bluebird is a smart, uplifting study of the real secret to joy.

Integrating archaeological, genetic, linguistic, and literary information, The Vikings: A History by Robert Ferguson is a readable and accessible book that serves as a solid introduction to Viking history. This provides an intriguing look at these restless voyagers and conquerers.


Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved by Chris O'Dell with Katherine Ketcham is the ultimate rock 'n' roll memoir. Chris O'Dell was one of the first woman tour managers for some of the world's most influential musicians today. She was a friend, confidante, and lover to these revered musical icons and lived in the "fast lane" for almost twenty years. Baby boomers in particular will enjoy this front row seat to rock history.

Fireside Chat

Fri., Jan. 29 - 3 to 4 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 26 - 3 to 4 p.m.

Join us in the lounge as we talk about new books--both fiction and non-fiction-- and introduce you to new authors. Everyone is welcome. If you enjoyed Booked for Lunch, you'll love our new Fireside Chat. Here's a sneak preview of some of the books we'll be introducing...

The Pecan Orchard: Journey of a Sharecropper's Daughter by Peggy Vonsherie Allen - In this simple, uplifting story, Allen tells of her childhood in an Alabama town, still emerging from "Jim Crow" attitudes in the 1960s and '70s. If you liked The Help by Kathryn Stockett and The Color of Water by James McBride, this one is sure to please.

Only in New York: An Exploration of the World's Most Fascinating, Frustrating, and Irrepressible City by Sam Roberts - The author draws upon his experience as Urban Affairs correspondent for the New York Times to create an anthology of forty essays about our unique city. Topics cover everything from the Son of Sam to the pooper scooper law in this humorous and elegantly written collection.

To the Rescue: Found Dogs with a Mission

by Elise Lufkin, photographs by Diana Walker - The author and photographer of Found Dogs and Second Chances team up once again to present irresistable stories of "found" dogs (and one cat), who were rescued and went on to become highly trained working animals at disaster sites and for those humans needing assistance.

Enjoy hearing more about these and many other new titles at our first Fireside Chat.

Fireside Chat

Come in out of the cold this winter and join us around the fireplace for a chat about the latest books. Details will be in the library's next newsletter. If you liked Booked for Lunch, you'll love our Fireside Chat. In the meantime, here's a preview of some of the new non-fiction travel books on the new book shelf....

Tropic of Capricorn: A Remarkable Journey to the Forgotten Corners of the World by Simon Reeve spans 23,000 miles around the globe. Starting in Africa and heading east through Australia and South America, Reeve encounters breathtaking landscapes and remarkable people--from the Bushmen of the Kalahari and Nambian prostitutes battling HIV to gem miners in Madagascar and teenagers in the Brazilian favela, once described as the most dangerous place on earth. Not for the faint of heart, this plunges beyond the usual travelogue.

In Mozambique Mysteries, novelist and world traveler Lisa St. Aubin de Teran captures the spirit Mozambique, which seems remote and unreachable to many westerners. Enthralled by this unique but poor country, the author finds the perfect place to realize her dream of founding a college for tourism and agriculture.


Talking Heads' founder David Byrne creates another unique travel experience in Bicycle Diaries. As a cyclist, Bryne's whole world opened up when he discovered folding bikes and took to the road internationally. What he sees and whom he meets, as he pedals through the streets of Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Manila, and more, is the subject of this eye-opening celebration of the world from the seat of a bike.