Blue Ribbon Book Stop

Snow might be in the forecast, so to keep your cabin fever in check try checking-out one of these highly recommended new mystery novels. These are not your traditional mystery series novels though and they will keep you guessing till the very end.

Winner of the 2008 Edgar Award for mystery novels, Down River by John Hart tells the story of Adam Chase, newly acquitted from a New York City murder trial and heading home to North Carolina. But home only brings more trouble, as the people around him start to die Adam once again finds himself the prime suspect.

Touted by the New York Times as one of the top crime novels of 2008, The Genius by Jesse Kellerman is an enthralling murder mystery set in the art world. Art gallery owner Ethan Muller exhibits a collection of drawings that unknowingly contain the portraits of four children from a decades old murder case. This sets off a dramatic series of events that leads Ethan and a detective on the hunt for the killer.

Another Edgar Mystery Award, this time for 2007, Jason Goodwin's The Janissary Tree takes a historical fiction approach to the murder mystery novel. Set in the Ottoman Empire in 1836, a eunuch intelligence agent is searching for the culprit of a string of political murders that threatens to topple the sultan's delicate balance of power.

If you breeze through these recommendations we have plenty of more books in our mystery section that will keep you going through the winter.

Born To Be Wild

Tis' the season to be active! Check out some of these books on winter sports.
There are many things to get you out of the house this winter. Read about some of the festivities you may enjoy to get your blood pumping like snowboarding, skiing, hockey, ice fishing or hunting.

Snowboarding Skills : The Back-To-Basics Essentials For All Levels by CindyKleh covers everything you need to know about this exiting sport. Whether you are a novice or an experienced snowboarder, there's lots here to help you enjoy boarding even more.

Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier 1 :The New Way To Ski by Harald Harb

All it takes to be an expert skier are the correct movements and the right equipment. Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier 1 helps you learn these movements, and to pick the equipment that's right for you.

The Hockey Handbook by Lloyd Percivval is the first book required by players or coaches at all levels of proficiency who are setting out to develop their own or their team's hockey skills. Newly redesigned and issued in an easy-to-use format, this book will serve as an inspiration and guide to future generations of players and coaches.

Fishing On Ice:A Complete Guide To Gear, Fish, And Fun by Noel Vick is like having your own personal ice fishing guide with a cover. Easy-to-understand tips from professional anglers will help all ice enthusiasts catch more fish. It's a must-read for anyone who desires to increase their ice fishing success.

The Complete Guide to Hunting by Don Oster will help you find tips and techniques for hunting big game, small game, upland birds, turkeys and waterfowl. With over 450 color illustrations, this book teaches you how to turn your time in the field into a memorable hunt.

In the News

India offers its share of prize-winning authors and books. The tragedy in Mumbai, or Bombay as some still call it, gives us a chance to reflect on this fascinating and culturally diverse country.

At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the sovereign nations of India and Pakistan were born. Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire by Alex von Tunzelmann richly portrays the end of an empire and the rise of Mohandas Gandhi.

First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood by Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of The Space Between Us, is a story intimately and compassionately told against the sensuous background of everyday life in Bombay.

No selection of books about India would be complete without authors V.S. Naipaul, the first Booker Prize winner of Indian descent and a Nobel Prize winner, and controversial author Salman Rushdie, another Booker Prize winner. Naipaul's book India: A Million Mutinies Now is a vivid travelogue that encompasses the India of the 1990s. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Rushdie is a timeless novel that effortlessly transcents political and religious squabbling and is great for children and adults.

The Alchemy of Desire by Tarun J. Tejpal is a novel that brings the reader to the top of the world and into the fabled Himalayan mountains. It celebrates the chaotic spirit of a country during a time of great change--at the turn of the millennium.

For another perspective, try noted American travel writer Paul Theroux's fictional account of today's India. The Elephanta Suite weaves three intertwined novellas of Westerners transformed by their sojourns in India.

There's a wealth of material to choose from. Visit the Reference Desk for more suggestions on this legendary nation.

Blue Ribbon Book Stop

Fantasy, fact, and fiction merge in some unusual Long Island stories. Bridging the past and the future, A Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin is a fanciful love story of a master thief and a white horse. Helprin begiles us with Baymen and billionaires and an ongoing search to stop time for the sake of love. This is the prefect tale to hunker down to on those cold winter nights.

The manipulation of time continues in The Montauk Project by Preston B. Nichols with Peter Moon. Part legend, and part conjecture, this chronicles one of the most amazing and secretive research projects in recorded history. Beginning in 1943, it culminates in bizarre experiments at Montauk Point.

Set in a small Long Island fishing community in 1947, Amagansett by Mark Mills is a dark and thoughtful story of a fisherman who finds his life transformed forever when he pulls up the body of a beautiful young woman in his fishing nets. This was previously a Long Island Reads book, part of a reading program for promoted by public libraries on Long Island.

For more fiction unique to Long Island, check with the Reference Desk.

Local History Book Stop

From 1640 to 1918, Long Island's inhabitants actively participated in the whaling industry. For Candlesticks & Corset Stays: Long Island's Yankee Whalers by Laurence Cone provides an historic look at whaling in and around Cold Spring Harbor. Mark Well the Whale! Long Island Ships to Distant Seas by Frederick P. Schmitt recreates the Golden Age of whaling in this area, while Whales and Whaling: Sag Harbor, New York, edited by George A. Finckenor, provides insight into the topic with documents from a whaling fleet.

Descendants of these formidable whaling clans, the bay fishermen, also play an important role in the historic fishing culture of Long Island. Men's Lives: The Surfmen and Baymen of the South Fork by Peter Matthiessen captures the lifestyle of this waning three hundred year old society of the commercial fishermen on the east end of Long Island. The hardcover version of the book contains black and white illustrations of another bygone era.

Mr. Hollywood Speaks

Looking for something otherworldly? Search no further! Here at the library we have a great collection of new and old science fiction flicks that will transport you to far away galaxies.

Starting with the not-so-ordinary, The Fountain is a smart and enthralling sci-fi story that is heartbreaking and intriguing all at once. Staring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, this story of life, death, and love spans over a thousand years.

Zathura is the quasi-sequel to Jumangi, only this time a magical board game leads to an outer-space adventure. Thrilling and comical, this family movie comes highly recommended.


Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is a throwback film with the look and feel of vintage 1930s science fiction movies, like Metropolis and Buck Rogers. Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan and beat reporter Polly Perkins are out to save the world from a mad scientist with city-crushing robots.

Last on the list is Tin Man, a new twist on the Wizard of Oz original, this sci-fi channel mini-series stars Zoe Daschanel as Dorthoy. The modern day update returns Dorothy back to the land of Oz and on the run from the evil sorceress Azkadellia.

Where the Fur Flies

Love Animals? Of course you do or you wouldn't be reading this blog. Human-animal relationships have become a popular topic. Therapy dogs, service animals, even wildlife viewing, have enhanced the lives of humans. We have great books by authors such as Jane Goodall, Caesar Millan, and Monty Roberts to further our appreciation of animals. The following selections will make you laugh and cry. Enjoy and please make comments! I love to hear from all you animal lovers.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World by Vicki Myron. As a kitten left in the book-drop bin, this special cat charmed his way into the lives of the people of Spencer, Iowa.

Chosen By A Horse: A Memoir by Susan Richards. A charming story of a women whose hurts from a difficult past are healed with the help of an abused horse rescued by the SPCA. This special relationship alters her life.

Dog Man: An Uncommon Life On A Faraway Mountain by Martha Sherrill. This gripping biography tells how one man saved the entire breed of Akita dogs during WWII.

Duma, starring Campbell Scott & Hope Davis, is a DVD. Watch the unbreakable bond of friendship between a young boy and a cheetah.