Blue Ribbon Book Stop

For those in a hurry for the holidays, grab a book from our newest display "Short & Sweet: Reading on the Run." These notable short story collections will be on display through December 21, 2009.

Delhi Noir edited by Hirsh Sawhney is part of the Akashic Noir award-winning series that launched in 2004. Each book is comprised of all new stories set in a distinct city and featuring dark tales. The legendary city of Delhi proves fertile ground for tales from the city's underside. The books contributors are as diverse as their stories--from Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs; Punjabis, Biharis, Bengalis, and Keralites.

Close Range: Wyoming Stories is by Annie Proulx, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Shipping News. Set in a landscape both brutal and magnificant, Proulx's collection features stories of cowboys, rodeo riders, and ranches. It includes the tale of Brokeback Mountain from which the award-winning movie was made.

Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen by Stephanie Harrison highlights 35 great stories that have inspired great films. All About Eve, Rear Window, and 2001: A Space Odyssey are much-loved movies that began their lives as short stories. Adaptations gathers together stories that have been the basis for films, many from giants in American literature.

There are many award-winning and unique collections on display, including for specific genres such as science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Check out this display for some quick and satisfying reads.

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.

Blue Ribbon Book Stop

Visit the latest holiday display this November 2009, honoring colonial America. Several standout books have been written about Jamestown, the Virginia settlement that pre-dates the Mayflower.

Savage Kingdom: The True Story of Jamestown, 1607, and the Settlement of America by Benjamin Woolley is "a well-told story of discovery, conquest, business, and politics." The award-winning author and broadcaster meticulously gathers and documents many fascinating details of this first permanent English colony in North America.

Captain John Smith: Jamestown and the Birth of the American Dream by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler draws from primary sources, including John Smith's own writings, to tell the story of the colony's most famous founder. Edgar award-winning authors also deconstruct the myth of the relationship between Captain Smith and Pocahontas.

The Jamestown Project by Karen Ordahl Kupperman enlarges the colony's story to encompass all the factors that led up to its founding, including the view from England toward the New World. Kupperman, an NYU historian, also reveals the dark side of this seeming success story.

These three non-fiction works are recent additions, written to honor the 400th anniversary of Jamestown in 1607.

Book Discussion: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
7 p.m.

This remarkable tale about the English Channel island of Guernsey began during the German occupation in WWII. When a group of Guernsey residents were discovered breaking curfew, they made the excuse that they were members of a book group. Thus began The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows uses the format of letters, written post-WWII, from the warm-hearted, eccentric inhabitants of Guernsey to a writer who finds inspiration for her next book in the correspondence. All from fully formed characters, the letters recount both humorous and horrific wartime events.

You won't want to miss this is a favorite among discussion groups. Sign up online at the Reference Desk or register online.

In the News

Check out the Riverhead Free Library's newsletter for information about a bus trip to Amish Country (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. Sign up today at the Public Information Desk.

Visit our October 2009 book display to learn more about the Amish, or to read a good Amish mystery or romance. Here are a few samples . . .

The real-life horrific shooting of ten Amish schoolgirls in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, in 2006, stunned the larger world. Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher explores the many questions about religious beliefs that allowed the Amish to forgive so quickly.

A Prayer for the Night: An Ohio Amish Mystery comes from popular Amish writer P.L. Gaus, who deftly balances the pace and practices of Amish life in northern Ohio against the unfolding urgency of a hostage situation. Gaus is praised by reviewers for his "refreshing authenticity" in this account of rumschpringe, that indefinite period during which Amish teens are permitted to immerse themselves in the modern world before deciding if they want to embrace traditional ways.

Those who like sweeter stories may want to try The Parting, a novel by Beverly Lewis, noted for her award-winning Amish stories. The first part of the three-book series (The Courtship of Nellie Fisher), The Parting ignites a clash between the old and the new. Well-drawn characters, a romance, and the exploration of Amish traditions and a relationship with God all lend depth to this popular series.

Yellow Barn: Fall/Winter Hours 2009

The Yellow Barn hours are being extended! We will remain open this fall/winter 2009 on Mondays and Fridays from 8:30 to 10 a.m., weather permitting. A variety of political and history books, particularly about the WWII era, are available for purchase. Or, stock up on children's shows on video tape for only 25 cents apiece.

Book Discussion: The Professor and the Madman

Tuesday, October 20
7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Open Room

Join us for a discussion of this international bestseller: The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester. An extraordinary tale of madness and genius, this marvelous true story tells of the obsessions of two men who were primarily responsible for the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It explores not only the dark side of the human psyche but chronicles the making of a masterpiece. Remarkably readable and well researched. Please sign up online or register at the Public Information Desk or at the Reference Desk.