Friday, October 26, 2012

Craft Group to Meet @ Bernardsville Library


Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, November 17 at 3:00 pm.  Individuals are invited to bring their own handwork projects to the Library and work together in a comfortable, communal setting while enjoying the benefits of shared tips and conversation. They can also take advantage of the many books available at the library on different types of crafts.

There is no charge to attend the meeting, and no sign-up is needed.  For more information, call the library at 908-766-0118

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

CANCELLED: Winning the Literary Lottery: Meet Author Maryann McFadden


When Maryann McFadden finally landed a major publishing contract at auction, writers’ blogs called it “winning the literary lottery.”  If only it were that easy.  On Sunday, November 11 at 3:00 pm at Bernardsville Public Library, Ms. McFadden will tell the inspiring story of her ten-year publishing journey--how she decided to publish her book herself and prove it was worthy, and she did.  This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Bernardsville Library.

Ms. McFadden self-published her first novel, "The Richest Season," in 2006 after five years of rejection and shelving it three times.  Championed by independent booksellers, she soon found herself attached to a literary agent who believed her novel should be published.  It sold at auction to Hyperion Books (ABC/Disney) and an expanded version was released in hardcover in June 2008.  It was recognized as an Indie Next Pick and Target Breakout Novel.  Since then, her books have been translated into German, Italian and Spanish.

Her third novel, "The Book Lover," debuted in May of this year and was also selected as a nationwide Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association.  Publisher’s Weekly described "The Book Lover" as "the subtly complex tale of an aspiring author, a struggling bookseller, an Iraq War veteran, and the pursuit of a dream that brings them all together...a believable story of self-discovery.”  Ms. McFadden's advice to aspiring writers with a dream: "Work hard, persevere, and believe!"

Ms. McFadden is also a speaker and writing coach, and loves to chat with book clubs and writers.  She lives in Northwest New Jersey where she is working on her fourth novel.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Local Self-Published Authors Fair


On Saturday, November 3, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Bernardsville Public Library, with co-sponsor The Bookworm, will host its first "Local Self-Published Author Fair."  The public is invited to meet local authors who have published their own work: a great opportunity to talk shop with writers of all genres—fiction, non-fiction, adult, young adult and children’s.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.  Just drop in.  No sign-up is necessary.  For further information, call the Library at 908-766-0118.
[Note: Participating authors have applied and been selected in advance of the date.]

Saturday Samplers Book Group to Meet


Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, November 3 at 3:30 pm to discuss Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith (2004) by Jon Krakauer.  [The author will not be present.]

The book traces the events that surrounded the 1984 murder of a woman and her child by fundamentalist Mormons Ron and Dan Lafferty who insisted that they received a revelation from God commanding them to kill their blameless victims.  Krakauer explores the belief systems and traditions, including polygamy, that mark the faith's most extreme factions and what their practices reflect about the nature of religion in America.  He is also the author of "Eiger Dreams", "Into the Wild," and "Into Thin Air" and is editor of the Modern Library Exploration series.

Led by Evelyn Fischel, Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and even teen fiction.  Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked books.  Readers can find information about the group and about the books and authors on the reading list at http://saturdaysamplers.blogspot.com.  No sign-up is needed to join the discussion.  Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.

Solar Energy 101

If you have questions about the practicality of installing or leasing a residential solar energy system for your home, come hear Christal Rosenka and Sean Barr of Independent Solar discuss the basics of residential solar energy systems on Saturday, November 3 at 11:00 am at Bernardsville Public Library.  They will explain how a solar PV system works and speak about tax credits, federal and state incentives, current legislation, whether such a system adds to the value of your house and what the advantages and disadvantages are to leasing or buying.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Clinton, NJ, Independent Solar specializes in solar and renewable installations in Hunterdon, Warren, Morris, and Somerset Counties.  They also act as a boutique distributor of source materials to other solar installers from Massachusetts, to Virginia and Ohio.  Independent Solar specializes in the use of American made solar panels and accessories.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Splendid Life Meditation

Join us for Splendid Life Meditation under the guidance of Fauzia Burke: Friday, November 2 at 10 am.  Learn to manage stress, and be happier and more creative. Free. No Sign-up is needed.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Met Museum Lecture on George Bellows Exhibition


Bernardsville Public Library will present a Metropolitan Museum lecture on Tuesday, October 30 at 7:00 pm on the up-coming retrospective of the work of George Bellows, an important member of the group of early 20th century American artists that came to be called the Ashcan School.  Vivian Gordon from the Museum’s Education Department will give listeners a preview of the show which opens on November 15 in New York. 

George Bellows is best known today for his dynamic paintings of boxing matches.   But in a career cut short by his early death at age 42, he produced a prodigious amount of work on a great variety of other subjects including the tenements and working poor of his adopted city New York, excavations for the building of Penn Station, polo and tennis matches at wealthy resorts, seascapes of Maine, and moving images of the horrors of World War I.  At the time of his death, Bellows (1882–1925) was regarded as one of America's greatest artists.  In his brief life, he created an extraordinary body of work totaling approximately six hundred oil paintings, hundreds of drawings, and almost two hundred lithographs.  This landmark loan exhibition highlight his achievements in all media.  Comprising some 140 paintings, drawings, and lithographs, the exhibition invites the viewer to experience a dynamic and challenging period—the first quarter of the twentieth century—through the eyes of a brilliant observer.  The exhibition is the first retrospective of Bellows's career in more than three decades.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Tea & Conversation with Author Caroline Leavitt


Join us for tea and conversation as Julie Maloney, Director of Women Reading Aloud, conducts an up-close and personal interview with award-winning New Jersey author Caroline Leavitt at Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, October 28 at 2:00 pm. Audience members will have a rare opportunity to ask the author questions about her work and her writing process.  A short reading as well as a book signing will follow the interview. 

Caroline Leavitt is the author of nine novels, including Pictures of You, Girls In Trouble, Into Thin Air, and Meeting Rozzy Halfway.  A number of her books have been optioned for film, translated into different languages, and condensed in magazines.  Her 2011 novel Pictures of You went into three printings months before publication and is now in its fourth printing.  A New York Times bestseller, it is also a Costco "Pennie's Pick," and a San Francisco Chronicle Editor's Choice "Lit Pick."

Ms. Leavitt's essays, stories and articles have appeared in Salon, Psychology Today, New York Magazine, Parenting, The Chicago Tribune, Parents, Redbook, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and numerous anthologies.  She won First Prize in Redbook Magazine's Young Writers Contest for her short story, "Meeting Rozzy Halfway," which grew into the novel.  The recipient of a 1990 New York Foundation of the Arts Award for Fiction for Into Thin Air, a 2003 Nickelodeon Screenwriting Fellow Finalist, and a semi-finalist in the Fade In/Writer's Net Screenplay competition, she was also a National Magazine Award nominee for personal essay.

A senior instructor at UCLA Writers Program online, where she teaches "Writing The Novel," Ms. Leavitt also mentors privately.  She is a book critic for The Boston Globe and People, and in 2005, won an honorable mention, Goldenberg Prize for Fiction from the Bellevue Literary Review, for "Breathe," a portion of Pictures of You.  She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey. 
   
Interviewer Julie Maloney has worked in the arts as a performer and educator her entire life.  She is a poet and writer and founder/director of Women Reading Aloud (WRA), a not-for-profit organization that promotes women writers in New Jersey and beyond.  WRA holds workshops, special events, writing retreats, conferences and an on-going writing workshop series each spring and fall during which women writers of all genres hone their work in a salon type setting.  The annual Writer’s Weekend Retreat is held each April in Sea Girt, NJ.  In June, WRA returns for its 3rd Greece Writer’s Retreat on the island of Alonnisos in the North Sporades. Visit: www.womenreadingaloud.org

There is no charge to attend the program at the library, but advance sign-up is requested.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

Craft Group to Meet @ Bernardsville Library


Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, October 27 at 3:00 pm.  Individuals are invited to bring their own handwork projects to the Library and work together in a comfortable, communal setting while enjoying the benefits of shared tips and conversation. They can also take advantage of the many books available at the library on different types of crafts.

There is no charge to attend the meeting, and no sign-up is needed.  For more information, call the library at 908-766-0118

Memoirs & Coffee Book Group to Meet


The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, October 23 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room.  Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Manager for the library, will lead the discussion of Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, And Hope In A Mumbai Undercity” (2012) by Katherine Boo. [The author will not be present.]

In "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," which is based on three years of uncompromising reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human.  With intelligence, humor, and deep insight into what connects human beings to one another in an era of tumultuous change, the book carries the reader headlong into one of the twenty-first century’s hidden worlds, and into the lives of people impossible to forget.  Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote of the book, “[An] exquisitely accomplished first book. Novelists dream of defining characters this swiftly and beautifully, but Ms. Boo is not a novelist. She is one of those rare, deep-digging journalists who can make truth surpass fiction, a documentarian with a superb sense of human drama. She makes it very easy to forget that this book is the work of a reporter. …. Comparison to Dickens is not unwarranted.”

Katherine Boo is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a former reporter and editor for The Washington Post. Her reporting has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur “Genius” grant, and a National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. For the last decade, she has divided her time between the United States and India. This is her first book.

There is no charge and no sign-up is needed to join the discussion.  Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Financial Skills for the Younger Generation

Parents all want their children to feel unburdened for as long as possible, especially when they are heading off to college and should be focusing on their upcoming studies and a bright future.  But four years goes by very quickly, and what better way to help them meet the challenges facing them upon graduation than to get them started early on their journey toward financial independence?

To this end, Bernardsville Library will host a presentation for high school-aged students, college-aged students and their parents by three experienced financial and investment advisors from R. Seelaus & Co. on Tuesday, October 23 at 7:00 pm.  During “Financial Skills for the Younger Generation,” listeners will learn the basics of investing as it relates to goal setting.  “We believe ‘saving’ is a lifestyle,” says Christina Gentile from R. Seelaus.  “Saving throughout your lifetime is a discipline that is similar to every other goal-oriented behavior, be it consistent study habits to attain a grade point average or practice for the team sport to win the championship.  Don’t treat the future with a low priority just because it hasn’t happened yet.”

There is no charge to attend the library workshop, but advance registration is requested.  Register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org, and follow the link under Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.