Stephanie Cowell

Last night’s author event drew a great crowd! Stephanie Cowell read from her novel Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet, and treated our audience of historical fiction fans to rarely seen images of young Monet, his model and lifelong love, Camille, their Impressionist circle of friends, as well as many of our favorite Monet paintings.

Last night’s author event drew a great crowd! Stephanie Cowell read from her novel Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet, and treated our audience of historical fiction fans to rarely seen images of young Monet, his model and lifelong love, Camille, their Impressionist circle of friends, as well as many of our favorite Monet paintings. Stephanie, a former professional opera singer, even sang for us one of the French folk songs which appear throughout the book. A great discussion followed her presentation.

Our conversation on Stephanie Cowell’s work will continue next week when our Evening Book Discussion Group meets to talk about one of her earlier novels, Marrying Mozart.  Join us!

EVENING BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP:
Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell
Thursday, October 20 7:00 PM

 

Find upcoming selections and an archive of previously discussed books on our Library Book Discussion Groups page.

2011 National Book Award Finalists

The Finalists for the 2011 National Book Awards have been announced by the National Book Foundation.

The Finalists for the 2011 National Book Awards have been announced by the National Book Foundation.

FICTION

The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Binocular Vision: New and Selected Stories by Edith Pearlman

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

NONFICTION

The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism by Deborah Baker

Love and Capital: Karl and Jenny Marx and the Birth of a Revolution by Mary Gabriel

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable

Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss

 

Banned Books Week

Celebrate Banned Books Week!

September 24 – October 1

Celebrate Banned Books Week!

September 24 – October 1


Books challenged or banned in 2010-2011.

 

 



Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle with India by Joseph Lelyveld

The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx

Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mark Mathabane

Nickel & Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

Push by Sapphire

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives by Paul Shaffer



9/11 10th Anniversary

Special Program at Cold Spring Harbor Library
Film & Discussion: Meet a 9/11 Hero
Wednesday, September 21, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

SPECIAL PROGRAM AT COLD SPRING HARBOR LIBRARY
FILM & DISCUSSION: MEET A 9/11 HERO
Wednesday, September 21, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Honor and remember the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Come view Remembering 9/11: An Oral History of Responders to the WTC Attack, stories from three responders with a guest appearance from one of the featured responders. This program for adults and family audiences powerfully communicates examples of profound generosity, selflessness, and bravery. Copies of the companion book, We’re Not Leaving! 9/11 Responders Tell Their Stories of Courage, Sacrifice, and Renewal, will be available for sale. All proceeds benefit WTC responders.

9/11 MEMORIALS
Flight 93 National Memorial
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center
The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial

Letter from the Director

Dear Residents,
The summer season passes so quickly, and the school year seems to arrive like a thunderbolt. Our preparations for a successful school year will begin with an outreach program for parents, students, and teachers.

Dear Residents,
The summer season passes so quickly, and the school year seems to arrive like a thunderbolt. Our preparations for a successful school year will begin with an outreach program for parents, students, and teachers. On September 26, stop by after school for a demonstration of Brainfuse, our online homework help service. Educators know that the key to a child’s academic success is access to accurate, reliable information. Therefore, all teachers are encouraged to use public library resources when preparing assignments, and to expect students to do so also, under the guidance of highly competent librarians. A formal training program has been prepared by your public librarians for K-12 teachers, and they may attend classes at the public library throughout the academic year.

Our Sunday hours will resume on September 11, which will always be a memorable date for our generation. This year, we will hail the heroes and remember those we lost on September 11, 2001, with a special program on September 21. In November and December, we will commemorate another, also momentous era, when we open the exhibit Over the Top: American Posters from World War I. Look for a series of programs based upon this exhibit in the next issue.

On July 16, over 150 guests celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Cold Spring Harbor Library. As with any special event, a committee of dedicated volunteers who really love their library and community rallied together, first as strangers, and later as friends, to raise funds for the CSH Library Friends Foundation. Funds raised exceeded $55,000, and will be applied to a year-long campaign to raise $125,000 for a Building Maintenance Fund. You may add your support via an online contribution, or with a personal check made payable to the CSHLFF.

Every September we evaluate our Summer Reading Club programs. In June, over 300 children and parents attended Summerfest, a carnival sponsored by the CSH Library Friends Foundation. At Summerfest, we distributed hundreds of new books purchased with funds donated by the CSH Lions Club. During the eight-week program, 395 children participated, reading hundreds of books. The Teen Summer Reading Club included over 90 students, who read thousands of pages, and volunteered over 550 hours at their public library. We love to see children of all ages fill the library every day. Their love of reading and inquisitive nature will enable a lifetime of success. Your librarians are honored to be a part of it.

Happy Reading!

Hurricane Preparedness

Governor Cuomo has declared a State of Emergency in New York in preparation for the potential impact of Hurricane Irene.

Governor Cuomo has declared a State of Emergency in New York in preparation for the potential impact of Hurricane Irene. Take stock of emergency supplies, such as water, non-perishable food, radios, batteries, supplies for any pets, and first aid kits, and check in with neighbors, especially the elderly or disabled, who might need assistance to ensure that their needs are met if emergency instructions are issued.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Hurricane Information from NY-Alert

Town of Huntington Hurricane Preparedness Handbook

Novel Destinations: Cuba

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

CUBA:

FICTION

Beautiful Maria of My Soul: Or the True Story of Maria Garcia y Cifuentes, the Lady Behind a Famous Song by Oscar Hijuelos

Dancing to “Almendra” by Mayra Montero

Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García

Fidel’s Last Days by Roland Merullo

Havana Bay by Martin Cruz Smith

Havana Fever by Leonardo Padura

Havana World Series by José Latour

Tango for a Torturer by Daniel Chavarría

Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner

NON-FICTION

The Boys from Dolores: Fidel Castro’s Schoolmates from Revolution to Exile by Patrick Symmes

The Brilliant Disaster: JFK, Castro, and America’s Doomed Invasion of Cuba’s Bay of Pigs by Jim Rasenberger

Cuba Diaries: An American Housewife in Havana by Isadora Tattlin

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba–and Then Lost It to the Revolution by T.J. English

The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba’s Last Tycoon by John Paul Rathbone

FILMS

Nada

Our Man in Havana

Viva Cuba

Novel Destinations: India

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

INDIA:

FICTION

An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy

The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing: From the Files of Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Investigator by Tarquin Hall

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn

A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta by Paul Theroux

The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri

East of the Sun by Julia Gregson

English, August: An Indian Story by  Upamanyu Chatterjee

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The Hero’s Walk by Anita Rau Badami

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Ladies Coupé by Anita Nair

The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

The Miniaturist by Kunal Basu

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Lekha Banerjee Divakaruni

Partitions by Amit Majmudar

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

The Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundaresan

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna

The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

NON-FICTION

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham

Eating India: An Odyssey into the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices by Chitrita Banerji

In the Valley of Mist: Kashmir: One Family in a Changing World by Justine Hardy

India: A History by John Keay

Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic by Ramesh Menon

Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India by Miranda Kennedy

Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire by Diana and Michael Preston

The Tiger Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir by Sudha Koul

Two Under the Indian Sun by Jon and Rumer Godden

FILMS

3 Idiots

Aloo Chaat

Bride & Prejudice

The Darjeeling Limited

Gandhi

Like Stars on Earth

Monsoon Wedding

The Music Room

Singh is Kinng

Slumdog Millionaire

A Wednesday!

Novel Destinations: Australia & New Zealand

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND:

FICTION

The Adventures of Miles and Isabel by Tom Gilling

After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld

At Home with the Templetons by Monica McInerney

Blood Moon by Garry Disher

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

The Colour by Rose Tremain

Dead Man’s Chest: A Phryne Fisher Mystery by Kerry Greenwood

Death of a River Guide by Richard Flanagan

Gunshot Road by Adrian Hyland

Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Sorry by Gail Jones

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Truth by Peter Temple

The Unquiet Night by Patricia Carlon

The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran

The World Beneath by Cate Kennedy

NON-FICTION

A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia by Thomas Keneally

The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

The Proving Ground: The Inside Story of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race by G. Bruce Knecht

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin

FILMS

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Australia

Animal Kingdom

A Cry in the Dark

Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger

Rabbit-Proof Fence

The Road from Coorain

The Square

The Sundowners

Ten Canoes

Whale Rider

Walkabout

Novel Destinations: Japan

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

Travel the world this summer with our Adult Summer Reading Program, Novel Destinations.

JAPAN:

FICTION

The Cloud Pavilion by Laura Joh Rowland

Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka

Country of Origin by Don Lee

Fear and Trembling by Amélie Nothomb

Girl in a Box by Sujata Massey

The Masuda Affair: A Sugawara Akitada Mystery by I.J. Parker

On Parole by Akira Yoshimura

The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby

The Tales of the Heike translated by Burton Watson

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery

Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace

Volcano by Shusaku Edno

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Villain by Shuichi Yoshida

NON-FICTION

Geisha: A Life by Mineko Iwasaki

The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan by Christopher Benfey

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan by Herbert P. Bix

The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan by W.G. Beasley

Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals by Tadashi Ono & Harris Salat

Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life by Lafcadio Hearn

Samurai: The Story of Japan’s Great Warriors by Stephen Turnbull

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein

Writings from Japan: An Anthology by Lafcadio Hearn

FILMS

The Ballad of Narayama

Departures

High and Low

Hula Girls

Japan’s Killer Quake

The Last Samurai

Lost in Translation

Memoirs of a Geisha

Ran

Rashomon

Ringu

Seven Samurai

Sway

Tokyo Sonata

Twenty-Four Eyes

Who’s Camus Anyway?

The Yakuza Papers: Battles Without Honor & Humanity