Newton Free Library

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The 2013 winners of the Pulitzer Prize in the Letters category were announced on Monday, April 15th. The winners are listed below along with links to their catalog records in The Newton Free Library’s online catalog.

FICTION - The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson

HISTORY – Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall

BIOGRAPHY – The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

POETRY – Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds

GENERAL NONFICTION – Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

Set in present day Ireland, this teen novel contrasts the frantic pace of modern day life with traditional Irish ways, Irish music, folk dancing and beliefs with a twist of magic. One of main character’s J.J. Liddy’s neighbors tells him he must travel to the enchanted land of the ever young where the faeries live to solve a decades old mystery about time itself and his family. I listened to the book on CD and thoroughly enjoyed the musical interludes between each chapter.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

The House of Mondavi follows the fortunes of the California wine family from the arrival of Cesare Mondavi in the United States in 1906 over the next four generations to the forced sale of the company in 2005 to Constellation Brands Inc. Plenty of family infighting and unwise business decisions lead to its takeover. After the death of Cesare, sons Robert and Peter ultimately could not work together, Mama Rosa sided with Peter and Robert left in 1965 to found his own winery. This same pattern of difficult family relations affecting business decisions repeated itself with Robert’s own two sons, Michael and Timothy. An interesting read for wine enthusiasts as well as students of American business.

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RATING: * * * A good read

Reviewed by: kh

At the urging of William Butler Yeats, in 1897, at the age of 26, Synge traveled to Ireland’s Aran Islands, located off that country’s west coast near the Bay of Galway. He made a number of visits, living with a family, learning the Irish language, and recording the folk tales and belief, and traditional songs and stories that he found there among the people. They were very poor and depended on fishing in the often stormy Atlantic for their livelihood. A fascinating picture of a vanished way of life that later inspired Synge’s play writing. I listened to the book on CD.

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RATING: * * * A good read

Reviewed by: kh

Below are some links about classic and recently published cookbook-memoirs, a popular and growing genre of literature.

• Article in the March 2013 issue of the New Republic about how some modern cookbook-memoirs have changed the genre, “The Way to A Man’s Heart: The modern cookbook-memoir as find-a-husband guide.”
• NPR.com, “They Came, They Saw, They Cooked: 5 Food Memoirs” by Susan Jane Gilman, July 27, 2011.
• The Literary Foodie, a blog with a long list of Food Memoirs.
• A post on AbeBooks by Richard Davies, “The 50 Best Food Memoirs“.
• A post on Flavorwire by Russ Marshalek in 2011, “Cooking Tales: 10 Delicious Memoirs from Chefs.”
• Article in the British newspaper The Independent by Samuel Mustun in 2012, “The 10 Best food memoirs: From life in a top-end New York kitchen to dinner parties at the height of the Raj, here are culinary tales to chew over…“

Search the Minuteman Library Catalog for cooking memoirs available from the library.

Looking for potential clients, employers, companies in trending industries? Now you can create lists of companies for your own purposes.  From the library’s homepage, choose “Free Online Databases” and look for Dun & Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Database.

Through an easy-to-use interface, you’ll find information on over 34 million public and private businesses in over 200 countries worldwide. Build  your own search template from up to 37 fields, such as:

• Industry codes (SIC and NAIS)
• Size criteria (employee and annual sales)
• Type of ownership
• Geographic location (country, state, city)

Key features include:

• Corporate family trees
• Principal executives and biographies
• Download up to 250 records at one time
• Flexible options include MS Excel, MS Word, Adobe Acrobat
• Link to First Research® for industry profiles and sales & marketing templates

Access to this database is available to anyone on library computers or remotely to Newton residents with a Newton library card beginning with the number 21323.  Go to http://ntnproxy.minlib.net/login?url=http://www.mergentmddi.com

Orion Magazine is a nature focused bimonthly periodical with offices in Great Barrington, MA; it is published in collaboration with the Myrin Institute. “Orion’s first Editor-in-Chief, George Russell, boldly stated Orion’s values: ‘It is Orion’s fundamental conviction that humans are morally responsible for the world in which we live, and that the individual comes to sense this responsibility as he or she develops a personal bond with nature.’”

“Orion’s mission is to inform, inspire, and engage individuals and grassroots organizations in becoming a significant cultural force for healing nature and community. The Orion Book Award is given annually to a book that addresses the human relationship with the natural world in a fresh, thought provoking, and engaging manner. Four additional books are named as finalists. Books eligible for the Orion Book Award are judged against these criteria: that it deepens our connection to the natural world, that it presents new ideas about our relationship with nature, and that it achieves excellence in writing. The Orion Book Award recognizes books published in North America during the previous calendar year.”

The 2013 Orion Book Award finalists are listed below along with links to their records in the Minuteman Catalog. The winner will be announced during the second week of April just before Earth Day.

• Apocalyptic Planet: Field Guide to the Everending Earth, by Craig Childs (Pantheon Books)
• Flight Behavior: A Novel, by Barbara Kingsolver (Harper)
• Things That Are: Essays, by Amy Leach (Milkweed Editions)
• The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, by Robert Macfarlane (Viking)
• The Mountain and the Fathers: Growing Up on the Big Dry, by Joe Wilkins (Counterpoint)

The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) announced its book awards for publishing year 2012 on Thursday, February 28th in New York. The NBCC was founded in 1974, its mission is to honor “outstanding writing and fosters a national conversation about reading, criticism and literature.”  The NBCC awards “honor the best literature published in the United States in six categories—autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. These are the only national literary awards chosen by critics themselves.” A list of the winners for the 2012 publishing year is below along with links to their catalog records in the Minuteman Library Network Catalog.

Poetry

D. A. Powell, Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys (Graywolf Press)

Criticism

Marina Warner, Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights (Belknap Press: Harvard University Press)

Autobiography

Leanne Shapton, Swimming Studies (Blue Rider Press)

Biography

Robert A. Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Alfred A. Knopf)

Nonfiction

Andrew Solomon, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity (Scribner)

Fiction

Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ecco)

Where does your American past begin?

Now, in addition to our Ancestry Library subscription available in the Library, you can research your genealogy at home with HeritageQuest Online!

Use HeritageQuest to find:

• U.S. Census records, 1790-1940
• 28,000 family and local history books
• 2.3 million local history books and article citations through  PERSI
• Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty Land Warrant Application Files
• Freedman’s Bank records from 1865-1874
• LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set – Selected memorials, petitions and private relief actions of the U.S. Congress

18th Century or 20th Century, African American or Native American, Farm or Factory, East Coast or West Coast – HeritageQuest Online can help!

The “Paris Wife” in the title is Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson. The author largely sticks to the facts of their courtship, marriage and alcohol-soaked life in Paris from 1920-1926. The characters come alive, Hadley trying to make a home, have her own creative life and be a support for Ernest who is combative, self-involved and driven to find his own voice as a writer. Their circle of fellow artists including Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound also figure in the story as does Hadley’s “friend,” Pauline Pfeiffer, who became Hemingway’s second wife.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

This is the first book in a new series featuring Vish Puri, head of Delhi, India’s “Most Private Investigators.” A colorful, appealing cast of family and employees help Vish Puri, know to his family and friends as “Chubby,” solve this case. With a strong sense of place, the plot takes us to different locales in India and also works in some of the problems and social issues of the world’s largest democracy. I listened to the book on CD and the narrator was terrific, using Indian-accented English and appropriate voices for the various characters. If you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith’s novels, try this one, it’s a winner.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good

Reviewed by: kh

The Huffington Post recently posted a list (created by Random House) of novels that were adapted into films that won an Oscar at the Academy Awards. Links to the book records in the Newton Free Library Minuteman Catalog are below. The full article can be read on the Huffington Post, “Academy Award Books: Oscar-Winning Tomes From Years Past” and on the Random House Blog.

Mutiny On The Bounty
By: Charles Nordhoff
The award: The film adaptation of this 1932 novel won Best Picture for 1935 and starred Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone.

Gone With The Wind
By: Margaret Mitchell
The award: When this book originally published in 1936, was adapted to film, it took home the prize of Best Picture in 1939. It once again starred Clark Gable.

Rebecca
By: Daphne du Maurier (1938)
The award: When a naive young woman marries a rich widower and settles in his gigantic mansion, she finds the memory of the first wife maintaining a grip on her husband and the servants. This film won Best Picture in 1940.

Hamlet
By: William Shakespeare (approximately 1599)
The award: “To be, or not to be.” The film took home the prize of Best Picture in the year 1948, though the 1996 version (with Kenneth Branagh) was also nominated for four Academy Awards.

All The King’s Men
By: Robert Penn Warren (1946)
The award: Robert Rossen directed the film version of this tome. It won Best Picture for 1949, though another version was made in 2006.

Around The World In Eighty Days
By: Jules Verne
The award: This adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1873 novel about a Victorian Englishman won Best Picture in the year 1956.

The Bridge Over The River Kwai
By: Pierre Boulle
The award: This film adaptation of this 1952 book starred William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and it took home the prize of Best Picture in 1957.

Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ
By: Lew Wallace
The award: Lew Wallace wrote the book in 1880, and Karl Tunberg wrote the screenplay that took home the Oscar for Best Picture in 1959.

Romeo And Juliet
By: William Shakespeare (approximately 1594)
The award: This classic love story took the form of a musical when it was adapted into the film West Side Story, starring Natalie Wood. It won Best Picture in 1961.

Oliver Twist
By: Charles Dickens
The award: The musical adaptation of this 1838 book about an orphan won Best Picture in 1968.

The Godfather
By: Mario Puzo
The award: When Marlon Brando and Al Pacino brought this 1969 book to life in 1972, it took home the prize for Best Picture the same year.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
By: Ken Kesey (1962)
The award: There was no one better to play the role of R.P. McMurphy than Jack Nicholson. The movie won Best Picture in 1975.

Dances With Wolves
By: Michael Blake
The award: Lt. John Dunbar befriends an unlikely beast in this adaptation of the 1988 book. This film won the Oscar in 1990 for Best Picture.

The Silence Of The Lambs
By: Thomas Harris
The award: One of the scariest films ever! Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins brought Thomas Harris’ characters to life in this film adaptation of the 1988 book. It won Best Picture in 1991.

Forrest Gump
By: Winston Groom
The award: Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. In this case, the film adaptation of Groom’s 1986 book starring Tom Hanks took home the award for Best Picture in 1994.

The English Patient
By: Michael Ondaatje
The award: Michael Ondaatje’s 1992 book came to life on the big screen in 1996 and took home the prize for Best Picture the same year.

The Lord Of The Rings
By: J.R.R. Tolkien (1955)
The award: Hobbits and The Shire came to life the trilogy of J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic trilogy that started with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the final book in the series, won Best Picture in 2003.

Brokeback Mountain
By: Annie Proulx
The award: Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger brought this 1997 love story to the screen in 2005. It took home the prize of Best Picture in the same year.

No Country For Old Men
By: Cormac McCarthy (2005)
The award: Adapted into film in 2007, this gripping story won Best Picture and starred Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin.

Slumdog Millionaire
By: Vikas Swarup
The award: Slumdog Millionaire was the adaptation of the 2005 novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. The film adaptation won Best Picture in 2008.

Finding a job by typing 140 characters or less sounds too good to be true.  That is the number of characters (including spaces) that the social media site Twitter allows per tweet. And you’re right. It’s a little more involved than one tweet.  Social media is about building a user’s reputation over time.

There is a useful article by Elisha Hartwig from Mashable summarizing a live Tweet chat that took place last Thursday between the human resources people at Twitter and NPR. The topic was finding efficient ways to use Twitter to find a job.  You can find the article below with all it’s useful tips and suggestions.  It’s tips can be quickly applied  by  people who already know how to use Twitter. The problem is that since it is short on specific how tos, beginners can absorb the ideas, but not have a clue how to implement them.

There are different ways to learn how to use various social media sites.  Did you think of books?  For computers! Absolutely.  They flow sequentially which helps the beginner build a solid base of knowledge going from point A to B to C before branching out in various directions.  A book helps you learn the basics. Below I have included several that might help.

Sometimes you just need someone to teach you.  It’s a great opportunity to get your questions answered on the spot.  (No fishing around for just the right keyword.) Although the library does not have a class exclusively on Twitter, we do  have one that is an introduction to social media.  It does cover Twitter, but also Facebook, LinkedIn, Goggle+, Yelp and Foursquare — all in two hours.  If you are interested, the class is being held on Wednesday, February 27th from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Newton Free Library.  There are only twelve computers (PCs) in the training room on the second floor, so you need to call and reserve a place. The number is (617) 796-1380.

How to Effectively Use Twitter as a Job Search Resource
by Elisha Hartwig from Mashable 10 February 2013

Tweet Deals: Using Twitter to Find a Job
New York Post  18 May 2009

Although a much older article, Tweet Deals (above) approaches a job hunt on Twitter from a different perspective. It describes the response of a network of online acquaintances to one of their number who is unexpectedly laid off. It demonstrates the power of social networking on a personal scale.  It also gives suggestions for using Twitter.

Books:

The Rough Guide to Social Media for Beginners: Getting Started with Facebook, Twitter and Google+ by Sean Mahoney.  London: Rough Guides, 2012.  006.754 M27R.

140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form by Dom Sagolla. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.  808.066 S12O

How to Find a Job on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ by Brad Schepp. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.  331.7 S32H

Class:

27 February 2013 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Newton Free Library there will be a class on Introduction to Social Media Online. Call (617) 796-1380 to reserve a place.

Not Near Newton, MA?

If you do not live near Newton, check with your  local public library and your neighboring libraries.  They often develop their own classes for their patrons. You can also get the above books or books like them from your local public library or through its interlibrary loan services.

vea/11 February 2013
Newton Free Library
Newton, Mass.
http://www.newtonfreelibrary.net
http://jobsearchchatter.wordpress.com

The American Library Association (ALA) announced its Youth Media Award Winners at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.

A list of all the 2013 award winners follows along with links to their catalog records in the Minuteman Catalog:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: “The One and Only Ivan,” written by Katherine Applegate.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: “This Is Not My Hat,” illustrated and written by Jon Klassen.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: “Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America,” written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: “I, Too, Am America,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: “In Darkness,” written by Nick Lake.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:

• “Back to Front and Upside Down!” written and illustrated by Claire Alexander wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.
• “A Dog Called Homeless” written by Sarah Lean is the winner of the middle-school (ages 11-13) award.
• The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am,” written by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis..

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:

• “Caring is Creepy,” by David Zimmerman, published by Soho Press, Inc.
• “Girlchild,” by Tupelo Hassman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• “Juvenile in Justice,” by Richard Ross, published by Richard Ross
• “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,” by Robin Sloan, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• “My Friend Dahmer,” by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of Abrams
• “One Shot at Forever,” by Chris Ballard, published by Hyperion
• “Pure,” by Julianna Baggott, published by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
• “The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
• “Tell the Wolves I’m Home,” by Carol Rifka Brunt, published by Dial Press, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
• “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?,” by Maria Semple, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States: “My Family for the War” is the 2013 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Germany in 2007 as “Liverpool Street,” the book was written by Anne C. Voorhoeve, translated by Tammi Reichel and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States: “The Fault in Our Stars,” produced by Brilliance Audio, is the 2013 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: “Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert,” illustrated by David Diaz, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Gary D. Schmidt.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, is the Belpré Author Award winner.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children: “Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon,” written by Steve Sheinkin, is the Sibert Award winner.

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book: “Up, Tall and High!” written and illustrated by Ethan Long.

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: “Seraphina,” written by Rachel Hartman.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: “Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon,” written by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2013 Excellence winner.

The book publishing industry has just released a new website, Bookish (http://www.bookish.com), designed to “to engage more readers with more books, more authors and with one another.” The website, which was primarly funded by Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA, and Hachette Book Group, also includes books from 16 other publishers including major ones such as Random House.The Bookish website describes its purpose by stating:

Users will find a variety of tool on the website including:

1. SEARCH
Find your favorite books and authors–it’s easy! Our rich catalog includes book descriptions and author bios, related videos, other books by the author, Essential reading lists, the latest stories from around the web about specific books and authors and much more.

2. DISCOVER
Explore our unique recommendation tool by inputting books you’ve recently read. Can’t settle on one title? Our dynamic tool lets you expand your search with multiple title selections.

3. READ
Enjoy original book-related pieces, including author exclusives, essential reading lists and video interviews. Our staff of well-read editors cover books in 18 popular categories.

According to an article in the New York Times, Bookish was originally scheduled to go live in the summer of 2011, but was delayed due to updates to the site, including its book recommendation engine. The New York Times articles states,”its creators argue will be the most sophisticated available. Instead of relying essentially on the taste of other customers with similar preferences, as most recommendation engines do, Bookish’s tool takes into account critical reviews and awards. Eventually it will even reflect the insights derived from a reader’s own nuanced description of books — for example, that the reader found a book to be exciting but unsatisfying.”

The Huffington Post quotes the Bookish CEO Ardy Khazaei, “”Bookish was created to serve as a champion of books, writers and, most importantly, readers. Ultimately, we seek to expand the overall marketplace for books, and whether a book gets into a reader’s hands via Bookish’s e-commerce partner or another retailer, everyone – from the publisher, to the retailer, the author and the reader – wins.”

The site interface is very easy to use and book recommendation engine useful, if you are looking for a new book try it out!

References:

Kaufman, Leslie. “Bookish, New Web Site, Provides Information on Books and Authors”, The New York Times. February 4, 2013, http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/bookish-new-web-site-provides-information-on-books-and-authors/?smid=pl-share.

Italie, Hillel. “Publishers Launch Online Site, Bookish.com, To Attract Readers, Sell Books”, Huffington Post. February 4, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/05/publishers-launch-online-_n_2621901.html.

If you enjoy mystery series books, kind of silly, but fun, try the Stephanie Plum books. The author is up to number 19, so they are certainly popular, with a recurring cast of characters that I look forward to hearing more about in each book. Set in Trenton, New Jersey, Stephanie is a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinny’s bail bonds business. In this episode Stephanie is after Geoffrey Cubbin who has absconded with $5,000,000 from Trenton’s Cranberry Manor assisted living facility.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The author has been especially interested in birds since his boyhood. After a visit to St. Kilda in the Hebrides Islands off Scotland, he was inspired to write this account of his travels to many of the world’s most remote islands in all five oceans. Descriptions of the wildlife found on each island as well as the changes to the natural history of each place with the coming of humans are fascinating. Plants and animals introduced accidentally or purposefully have in most cases had negative effects on the ecology of the islands. Guam, for instance has had catastrophic changes with the brown tree snakes having killed virtually all the birds in the forests of Guam. Other places are taking steps to protect their wildlife, in the Tuamotu Archipelago, many birds and other flora and fauna still survive and thrive. I recommend this book for the armchair traveler.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

If English, Spanish, French, and Italian aren’t enough for you, Mango Languages has four new online courses: Romanian, Swahili, Modern Standard Arabic, and Egyptian Arabic. Newton residents can try them at home from the Language Learning page on our website.

If you enjoy reading the Sunday New York Times Book Review, the Book Review podcast is a great listening experience. The New York Times description of the podcast; “Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of the Book Review, talks to authors, editors and critics about new books, the literary scene and current best sellers.” The links to listen to all the podcasts in mp3 format can be found on the New York Times’ website: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/books/books-podcast-archive.html?smid=pl-share. The podcast can also be downloaded through iTunes. Sam Tanenhaus is a great interviewer and the podcast always provides insight into the writing of articles in the Sunday Book Review and what is happening in the book publishing world.