Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Saturday Crafters

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, May 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. 

Public Relations Assistant Evelyn Fischel will showcase project ideas and books at each meeting.  A long-time crafter, Ms. Fischel will encourage such interests as knitting, crocheting, paper arts, hand sewing, embroidery and other needlework, as well as any other craft the group wishes to cover.  

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

Capture Your Kinfolk: A Poetry Workshop

Morristown poet Gail Fishman Gerwin returns to the Bernardsville Public Library on Thursday, May 15 at 10:00 am to lead a writing workshop titled "Capture Your Kinfolk."  

So many memories involve kin: perhaps feuding aunts, spouses (current, former, or fantasy), loving parents and grandparents, siblings, children, grandchildren, and even the animal kinfolk we love or have loved.  In a spirit of honoring family members, Ms. Gerwin will invite workshop participants to think of their kinfolk (by blood, marriage, friendship) and write narrative poetry about them.  If there is a photo—old or current—that prompts a memory, bring it along or tap your store of experiences and major or minor events that can lead to a poem.  The workshop will review the qualities of narrative poetry and new resources will be discussed.  There will be time to write, to share, and to discuss the process.

Ms. Gerwin, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, received her AB from Goucher College and thirty years later, her MA from NYU’s Gallatin School.  A former educator, in 1984 she founded inedit, a freelance writing/editing firm based in Morristown.  She is author of "Bella’s Family," a two-act play about a Jewish immigrant family in the early 20th century; "Dropping Names," a one-act play; and "Women in Motion," a monologue collection.  Her poems, book reviews, fiction, essays, and journalistic features appear in literary journals, anthologies, newspapers, and magazines, and her plays have enjoyed staged readings at varied venues.  Her first poetry collection, "Sugar and Sand," earned finalist designation for the 2010 Paterson Poetry Prize.  Her second, "Dear Kinfolk," earned a 2013 Paterson Prize for Literary Excellence.  She presents readings and workshops at varied venues and is associate poetry editor of Tiferet, a journal of spiritual literature.  She and her husband Kenneth live in Morristown.

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. 

Monday, April 28, 2014

"Share the Keys"

Patrolman Paul Kelley of the Bernardsville Police Dept. will discuss New Jersey’s intricate and strict teen-driver probationary licensing rules and restrictions at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:00 pm. The program is specifically designed to educate parents of teen drivers about the New Jersey Graduated Driver License program and their roles in the successful training of their inexperienced teen drivers. Sign up by calling 766-0037 or email police@bernardsvillepd.org.

Historic Somerset Hills: The Country Place Era

The Maples 
The "Somerset Hills Country Place Era" is a recent thematic type of historic register designation approved by the NJ State Historic Preservation Office in 2013.  It makes it possible for historic estate properties and structures built in the Bernardsville area between 1870 and 1940 to be listed on the NJ Register of Historic Places if desired by the current owners. On Thursday, May 8 at 7:00 pm, Bernardsville’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (HPAC) will explain this listing and what possible historic designation means for your property.  Preservation professionals will be on hand to answer your questions and explain the benefits of listing in a historic district. 

Founded in 2002, Bernardsville's Historic Preservation Advisory Committee is dedicated to the promotion of historic preservation in the borough through planning, outreach, conservation, education, public programs and events.

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. 

Friday, April 25, 2014

Photograph Exhibit: "Travels with the Maasai" by Douglas Munch

A Maasai warrior at sunrise
in the Ngorongoro Highlands.
Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present "Travels with the Maasai" during the month of May, an exhibition of photographs by local entrepreneur and professional photographer Douglas Munch.  There will be an opening reception for the public on Saturday, May 10 from 12:00 to 2:30 pm.

The show will feature photographs from the Serengeti, including images of the ancient Hadzabe tribe, one of the last remaining hunter gatherers on earth and the Maasai people in Tanzania.  About this exhibition, Mr. Munch said, “My vision is to view the world through a prism of beauty, color, perspective, and geometry, leading to images with heart and sensitivity.  I hope this exhibition will project those qualities through my images.”  Hadzabe people number just under 2,000 today, living on the shore of Lake Eyasi.  Through DNA testing, the tribe has been traced back 2.2 million years old with origins in the Olduvai Gorge.  Maasai people are pastoral, herding goats and cattle.  As fierce warriors, the Maasai men are trained for battle.  

Mr. Munch has been creating photographic images since the age of eleven when he won his first "open" contest in as a young student in Japan.  Since that time, photography has been a creative outlet for him, primarily as a serious avocation.  He has said about his work, "I love this medium.  Our world has so much color and beauty in it.  Photography helps me to enjoy that beauty and express my vision of it through photographic images that others may also enjoy.”

Over the years, he has won numerous contests and has published photographs in books, journals, and calendars, most recently for Barnes and Nobel's 2010 mid-year and 2011 engagement calendars.  Munch has had several photographic exhibitions including a curated one man show in New Jersey, “Colors of the World,” which featured images from ten countries and five US states.  Another one man show in Toronto, Canada, “Colors of Macedonia,” featured images of antiquity and modernity in the Republic of Macedonia, part of the former Yugoslav Republic.  In 2011, he was invited to exhibit several images as part of another curated photo exhibition in New Jersey and also exhibited a number of photographs that were coordinated with a "Photoshop® Lightroom" class he taught at Calumet Photographic in Cambridge, MA.  Most recently, he has been on two different expeditions with National Geographic photographers, one in Tanzania and another in Tibet.  The Tanzania journey is the subject of this exhibition.

Mr. Munch had a long career in medicine and business consulting with pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical device companies.  He also worked for companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Sphinx Pharmaceuticals, and Kimberley Clark Corporation.  Munch attended Villanova University, The University of California and received his doctorate in Medicine and Biomedical Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine.

This exhibition will be on view in the library’s Community Room during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress.  For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.

Yoga Basics Classes

In a partnership of Bernardsville Library and Bernardsville Recreation, another six-session course on yoga basics will be offered in the library's Community Room on Tuesdays, May 6 to June 17 at 1:00 pm (no class on June 3).  Taught by Julie Shaw of Lotus Mind and Body, the total cost for the 6-week session is $30.00.  Registration is required through Bernardsville Recreation’s Community Pass portal, https://register.communitypass.net/bernardsville.  Students should bring a yoga mat or towel with them to class.
  
Suitable for all students, the classes will offer an integrated sequence of poses designed to warm up the body and then work toward a specific intention within the natural movements of the spine.  Students are encouraged throughout the entire practice to link their awareness of breath to the movements of the body.  This awareness is the single most important key to a Hatha yoga practice because it serves to keep the practitioner in the present movement, observing and accepting what is.  Pranayama (breath work) and a final deep relaxation are integral to every class.

Some twenty-five years ago, Instructor Shaw's long commute in a car with a cranky clutch resulted in back pain.  She looked up “yoga” in the yellow pages and stepped into so much more than an exercise class.  Fourteen years later she completed her first level Yoga Alliance-approved teacher training, followed six years later by her second level training.   She began teaching more than 10 years ago and has studied several primary forms of yoga, including Iyengar, Kripalu and Viniyoga.  Currently, she is studying to become a certified yoga therapist in the Viniyoga tradition, which is one of the remaining truly authentic yoga traditions.  She teaches group classes and works privately with individuals, developing a yoga practice which can best serve their needs, whatever their condition may be.  Ms. Shaw has had the privilege of experiencing the cumulative effects of decades of yoga, and she uses that awareness to encourage all students, beginners or veterans, to be open to what yoga can offer in this moment of their lives.  

For further information, call Bernardsville Library at 908-766-0118 or Bernardsville Recreation at 908-766-2546.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Saturday Samplers Book Group to Meet

Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, May 3 at 3:30 pm to discuss “Open Secrets,” a short story collection (1994) by Alice Munro, the renowned Canadian short-story writer who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature. [The author will not be present.]

In these eight tales, Ms. Munro evokes the devastating power of old love suddenly recollected. She tells of vanished schoolgirls and indentured frontier brides and an eccentric recluse who, in the course of one surpassingly odd dinner party, inadvertently lands herself a wealthy suitor from exotic Australia. And she shows us how one woman's romantic tale of capture and escape in the high Balkans may end up inspiring another woman who is fleeing a husband and lover in present-day Canada.  The New York Times Book reviewer wrote, "Open Secrets is a book that dazzles with its faith in language and in life.”  

The author grew up in Wingham, Ontario, and attended the University of Western Ontario.  During her distinguished career, she has been the recipient of many awards and prizes, including the W.H. Smith Prize, the National Book Circle Critics Award, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction, the Lannan Literary Award, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and the Rea Award for the Short Story.  In Canada, she has won the Governor General's Award, the Giller Prize, the Trillium Book Award, and the Libris Award.  Alice Munro and her husband divide their time between Clinton, Ontario, and Comox, British Columbia.

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.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Splendid Life Meditation Group

Basking Ridge resident Fauzia Burke will lead the next monthly guided meditation session at Bernardsville Public Library on Friday, May 2 at 10:00 am.  Ms. Burke’s style of meditation incorporates many cultural traditions and uses the power of word and imagery to facilitate a meditative experience; there is no right or wrong way, no particular way to sit, or words to say.  Each experience is honored as unique and can help reduce stress, generate creativity, and create positive energy.  

“Our intention for these gatherings is to find peace and serenity through a practice of regular meditations, and to develop a community for support and friendship,” says Ms. Burke.  She has been meditating for over 15 years and leading meditation groups for twelve years. By day, she is the President and Founder of FSB Associates, an Internet marketing firm that promotes books and authors on the Web.  She lives in Basking Ridge with her husband and two daughters, and volunteers to lead the Splendid Life meditations in an effort to help others achieve the peace of mind and inspiration that she has found through mediation. 

There is no charge to attend the program, and no sign-up is required.  No experience in meditation is necessary.  Bring a journal and pen, and wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing.  For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Tech Update: Twitter

Learn how to use Twitter, the online social networking and microblogging service, at Bernardsville Public Library on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 pm. Find out how to get the most out of it by following trending topics, configuring privacy settings, and tapping into third-party resources that make it easier to follow, send, and schedule tweets. We’ll also walk through building and customizing an individual profile, reading and sending Twitter updates, and find out why creating a network of followers can help you. The class will be taught by Programs Plus, a software training company.  

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.

Saturday Crafters to Meet

Saturday Crafters, a monthly craft group organized by Bernardsville Public Library, will meet on Saturday, April 26 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. 

Public Relations Assistant Evelyn Fischel will showcase project ideas and books at each meeting.  A long-time crafter, Ms. Fischel will encourage such interests as knitting, crocheting, paper arts, hand sewing, embroidery and other needlework, as well as any other craft the group wishes to cover.  

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

Fifty Book Challenge Group to Meet

Community members are invited to come to the next meeting of the 50 Book Challenge on Saturday, April 26 at 3:00 pm in the library’s Community Room. Reading fifty books in fifty-two weeks may seem daunting, but share the goal with a supportive group and it can be a lot of fun.

At this meeting, which will include animated discussion, reading suggestions and snacks, ambitious readers will trade notes on their progress as well as books they like and books they don't. Join us for the fun and a test of your literary knowledge. New members are welcome at any time during the year. The group meets quarterly.  

The fifty books in fifty weeks are suggested, not required, for participation in the program. Each reader will choose which reading “counts” as part of the total.  There are no limitations as to which formats can be read: downloaded books, audio books, e-books and graphic novels are all acceptable.  

For more resources and for email updates for the 50 Book Challenge, go to the library's webpage, www.bernardsvillelibrary.org /50_book/. For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Taking the "Work" Out of Networking

The next meeting of "The Can-Do Connection" will convene at Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, April 23 at 7:00 pm.  Led by Andrea Mastrobattista, this workshop will help participants discover a new perspective on networking.  "Part of making your dream come true involves connecting with people who can help you," said Ms. Mastrobattista, "While networking seems like a huge chore, it doesn’t have to be."  

This workshop is an outgrowth of last year's "The University of Can-Do Master's Program."  Ms. Mastrobattista has been leading her inspirational workshops on Wednesday evenings at the library since 2006.  She heads a company called Operation INSPIRATION and also facilitates workshops in the Somerset Hills such as "Facing Your Fears" and "Transforming Negatives Into Positives" in which she helps people to fully form their goals and develop a strong can-do attitude for achieving them.  Her core belief is that, no matter what circumstances people face, they have the strength and ability to create and live fulfilling and inspiring lives.  She also owns Golden Slipper Productions, a company which creates websites and promotional materials for small and mid-sized businesses.

There is no charge to attend the library workshop, but advance registration 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.

College Essay Workshop

For rising seniors and high school juniors too: Avoid stress in the fall by getting a head start on writing the essay for your college applications this summer. Come to Bernardsville Public Library on Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 pm when expert Randy Levin will help you spring into action and avoid the top five mistakes students make on their college application essays. Parents are also invited.  

Essays are now more important than ever. Mr. Levin will help listeners set themselves apart from all other applicants and avoid wasting valuable time writing the wrong essays. Whether applying to local colleges, state schools or the Ivy League, this presentation will provide solid guidance to listeners on how to stand out and write great essays unique to them. Mr. Levin's clients have been accepted to many prestigious colleges including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, M.I.T., Columbia, Georgetown, U of Chicago, Duke, Brown, NYU, Northwestern, U Penn, Dartmouth, Swarthmore, and Amherst.

Randy Levin has a Master's in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. A former English teacher, he has also developed curricula for expository and creative writing (including persuasive writing). He has worked at the New York State Department of Labor teaching resume writing and interview techniques, and, for close to thirty years, he has been a stand-up comedian performing at Westbury Music Fair, Mohegan Sun, comedy clubs, corporations, and on cruise ships.  

There is no charge to attend the program at the library, but advance sign-up is required.  Sign up at www.bernardsvilllelibrary.org or call the library at 908-766-0118. The same workshop is also being offered at Bernards Township Library on Wednesday, April 16 at 7:00 pm.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Local Poets Celebrate Poetry Month @ Bernardsville Library:

In commemoration of National Poetry Month, April 2014, the Raritan Valley Federation of Municipal Libraries is publishing a National Poetry Month Celebration Anthology.  The booklet features the original works of local New Jersey poets from participating libraries— Bernards Township, Bernardsville, Dunellen, Middlesex, New Brunswick, and Raritan.  Poets who submitted their work to Bernardsville Library will read their poems to the public on Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00 pm in Bernardsville. The poetry-loving public is invited to attend and bring poems to read too. An open mic will follow the reading by poets in the anthology.

This year there was a suggested, though not required, theme for the poems submitted for the anthology: “Our Town,” commemorating the 75th anniversary of the play by Thornton Wilder. One pair of tickets to the play, which will be performed at the George Street Playhouse in late April through May, will be awarded to the poet whose poem best illustrates this theme.

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.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Memoirs and Coffee Book Group to Meet

The next meeting of Bernardsville Public Library’s book discussion group, Memoirs and Coffee, will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 10:30 am in the library’s Community Room.  Pat Kennedy-Grant, Readers’ Services Manager for the library, will lead the discussion of “She Matters: A Life in Friendships” (2013) by Susanna Sonnenberg.  [The author will not be present.] 

The book describes the friendships that have influenced, nourished, inspired and haunted the author through her life, and it is a testimony to the emotional significance of the intense bonds between women. 

Susan Chira wrote in The New York Times, "Sonnenberg demonstrates a self-awareness that is clearly hard-earned, one of the many qualities she has absorbed from her eclectic and generous friends. In the end, that determination to learn from the women who are close to her, to investigate where she failed and where they did, is what gives the book such resonance. 'She Matters' lingers with you, inviting you to construct a patchwork quilt of your own life and salute the many women who helped you along the way."

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

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Jenny Milchman to Launch New Book at Bernardsville Library

Join us at Bernardsville Public Library on Monday, April 21 at 7:00 pm for the advance publication party, hosted with The Bookworm, for Jenny Milchman’s new book, “Ruin Falls: A Novel.”  Refreshments will be served, and books (which go on sale the next day) will be available for purchase and signing. 

In "Ruin Falls," her second novel, Ms. Milchman ratchets up the tension with the edge-of-your-seat story of a mother determined to find her missing children.  The story is thrilling and complex, and showcases the author as an electrifying voice in psychological suspense.  The New York Times wrote of the book, “Milchman reveals an intimate knowledge of the psychology of grief, along with a painterly gift for converting frozen feelings into scenes of a forbidding winter landscape.”

Ms. Milchman's debut novel, "Cover Of Snow," was published by Ballantine/Random House in January 2013 and earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, as well as praise from The New York Times, San Francisco Journal of Books, the AP, and many other publications.  She is the Chair of the International Thriller Writers Debut Authors Program, and the founder of Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, which was celebrated by over 650 bookstores in all 50 states and four foreign countries in 2013.  The host of the "Made It Moments" forum on her blog, which has featured more than 300 international bestsellers, Edgar winners, and indie authors, she also founded the literary series Writing Matters, which attracted guests from coast-to-coast and received national media attention.  She teaches writing and publishing for New York Writers Workshop.  

When “Ruin Falls” comes out, Ms. Milchman will set out on a four month/20,000 mile book tour with her family, editing her next novel en route, "car-schooling" the kids, and writing about the adventure for Shelf Awareness.  Formerly a resident of Morristown, where she still owns a home, she lives in upstate New York when not on tour with her family.

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.