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.

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.

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present a free concert on Sunday, October 14 at 3:00 pm by the newly formed jazz quartet Brynn, Grover & Jazz Jump, featuring both the single and double vocals of singer Brynn Stanley and singer/guitarist Grover Kemble.  Their sound specializes in arrangements of The Great American Songbook interspersing clever medleys with elements of swing and Jump/Blues from the 1940's. Extra highlights also include wonderful Latin American bossa nova stylings to round out a uniquely entertaining and enjoyable program.  The two singers will be backed up by Tim Metz on upright bass and John H’Vasta on drums.  This concert is part of the Sundays at Three concert series funded by the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library.  Doors open at 2:45 pm.  No sign-up is needed to attend.  

In 2011, at a famous local jazz spot, a chance encounter between gifted young jazz singer, Brynn Stanley, and seasoned veteran jazz entertainer, Grover Kemble, led to a great friendship and a unique joint venture.  This fresh and adventurous musical act features both artists’ ample and diverse song styling.  Mr. Kemble’s popularity and notoriety stem from many years as a well-known jazz entertainer, vocalist, and guitarist. He has graced many famous concert halls, festivals, and venues, while Ms. Stanley has recently garnered glowing reviews for her remarkable voice, exuberant jazz sensibility, and presence.  Together, this swinging act makes for an enjoyable and varied musical event.  As a duo, they create a tapestry of songs ranging from Gershwin to Ellington.   

Brynn Stanley has been singing professionally for several years at special venues throughout the New York metropolitan area.  Upon graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a fine arts major and a concentration in theatre, Ms. Stanley immediately embarked on a singing career.  She has been a featured performer at several events held at the New Jersey Governor's Mansion, most notably the "NJ Heroes" celebration.  She continues to perform at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, NJ and many well-known jazz concert series throughout the tri-state area.  Her smooth and soulful voice takes familiar songs and flips them into contemporary versions in a unique style that's all her own.  Focusing primarily on jazz, soul, and pop, Ms. Stanley’s collection of music continues to expand with the integration of original music into her performances.

Grover Kemble's unique and colorful interpretations of jazz, Latin, R&B, and original   compositions have garnered him considerable  attention and acclaim from music connoisseurs  and critics for well over two decades.  Mr. Kemble has been in constant demand as one of the New York metropolitan area's premier entertainers since he captivated audiences in the 1970's at New York City's The Bottom Line, The Other End  and the Newport Jazz Festival.  His career has been nationally highlighted with stints at The Roxy in Los Angeles, the Spoleto Arts Festival in Charleston, and the Wolf Trap Jazz Festival in Vienna, Virginia.  Internationally, Mr. Kemble has been a regular performer at the world famous Jazz Keller in Frankfurt, Germany.  He began playing professionally in his early teens and performed with numerous acts before touring nationally with the novel groups, Sha­na-na and Za Zu Zaz.  He has played in both duo and group settings with world-renowned jazz artist John Pizzarelli and accompanied his band in 2005 at the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. 

For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

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Photo attachment (left to right): Tim Metz, Grover Kemble, Brynn Stanley, and John H'Vasta

An Evening with Bill Moyers

On October 26 at 7:00 pm, the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library are proud to present "An Evening with Bill Moyers" at Dolce in Basking Ridge.  Mr. Moyers, host of Moyers & Company on PBS, former White House Press Secretary, and Bernardsville resident, will discuss the influence of the media on democracy.  

Tickets are $100 per person and proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Library whose mission it is to fund special programs and services at the Library including children's programs, English-As-As Second-Language classes, and Sundays at Three concerts, as well as computers, and books and materials that enhance the library's offerings to the community.  Light refreshments are included, and a selection of books by Mr. Moyers will be available for purchase and signing.  Tickets may be purchased at the library until October 15.  Seating is limited.  For further information, call the library at 908-766-0118.

A broadcast journalist for more than four decades, Bill Moyers has been recognized as one of the unique voices of our times, one that resonates with multiple generations.  In January 2012, at the age of 77, Moyers began his latest media venture with the launch of Moyers & Company on air and online at BillMoyers.com – providing “conversations on democracy” and explorations of contemporary culture, making sense of what matters to us all.

With his wife and creative partner, Judith Davidson Moyers, Bill Moyers has produced such groundbreaking public affairs series as NOW with Bill Moyers (from 2002 through 2005) and Bill Moyers Journal (from 2007 through 2010).  Since the company’s founding in 1986, other notable productions have included the landmark 1988 series, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, as well as Healing and the Mind, The Language of Life, Genesis, On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying, Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home, America’s First River, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience, Faith & Reason, and Moyers on America.

Moyers began his journalism career at age 16 as a cub reporter for his hometown daily newspaper in Marshall, Texas.  He was a founding organizer and deputy director of the Peace Corps and special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson.  Moyers served as Johnson’s press secretary from 1965 to 1967.  As publisher of Newsday from 1967 to 1970, he brought aboard writers including Pete Hamill, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Saul Bellow, and led the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes.  In 1976, he was the senior correspondent for the distinguished documentary series CBS Reports and later a senior news analyst for The CBS Evening News.

For his work, Bill Moyers has received more than 30 Emmys, two prestigious Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, nine Peabodys, and three George Polk Awards.  In the first year it was bestowed, Moyers received the prestigious Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by the American Film Institute.  A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he also received the Career Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association and has been honored by the Television Critics Association for outstanding career achievement.

Moyers was elected to the Television Hall of Fame in 1995.  A year later he received the Charles Frankel Prize (now the National Humanities Medal) from the National Endowment for the Humanities “for outstanding contributions to American cultural life.”  In 2005, Moyers received the PEN USA Courageous Advocacy Award for his passionate, outspoken commitment to freedom of speech and his dedication to journalistic integrity.  He has also been honored with the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award.  The Museum of Broadcast Communications calls Moyers, “One of the few broadcast journalists who might be said to approach the stature of Edward R. Murrow.  If Murrow founded broadcast journalism, Moyers significantly extended its traditions.”

Moyers’ books include such bestsellers as Listening to America, The Power of Myth, Healing and the Mind, The Language of Life, Moyers on America: A Journalist and His Times, and Moyers on Democracy. His most recent book, Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues, was published in May 2011.  He currently serves as president of the Schumann Media Center, a non-profit organization that supports independent journalism.

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“Bill Moyers has been and remains an essential voice in our national conversation … the living antithesis to an era of shocking superficiality in our discourse and media.” — Brian Williams

“Bill Moyers is everything I never aspire to be: calm, thoughtful, and informative.” – Stephen Colbert

Annuities – The Pros and Cons

You have probably been invited to free lunch or dinner seminars where you hear about the benefits of annuities (especially variable annuities) for retirement planning.  Perhaps you own annuities.  But do you really understand all of the benefits – and drawbacks – of owning them?  If you own an unattractive annuity, what can you do about it?  Come to Bernardsville Public Library on Wednesday, October 10 at 7:00 pm to get the answers to these questions when Eve Kaplan, a Certified Financial Planner at Kaplan Financial Advisors, LLC, will offer a presentation with an objective overview of these complex investment instruments.  

Ms. Kaplan is a Fee-Only (no products sold) advisor and she is in a unique position to look at annuities in an unbiased manner.  She has 28 years of investment experience; she formerly managed nearly $1billion of equity investments in overseas markets. This is her ninth year running Kaplan Financial Advisors in Berkeley Heights.  This presentation is relevant to individuals of all investment levels – from beginning to advanced.  There will be time for questions at the end of her presentation.

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 Samplers Book Group to Meet

Bernardsville Library’s book discussion group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, October 6 at 3:30 pm to discuss The Lock Artist (2009) by Steve Hamilton.  [The author will not be present.]

A work of crime fiction, the book tells the story of Michael, who suffered a traumatic experience at the age of eight and hasn't spoken a word since.  His great talent is that he can crack any safe without the combination and any lock without a key.  Pushed close to a life of crime, he finally sees his chance to escape and go back home to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long. A New York Times Notable Crime Book of the Year, the Times reviewer wrote, "This one is too good for words."

Author Steve Hamilton attended the University of Michigan and won the prestigious Hopwood Award for writing.  His first novel, A Cold Day in Paradise, won the PWA/SMP Best First Private Eye Novel Competition.  It went on to win the Edgar and Shamus Awards for Best First Novel.  In 2006, he won the Michigan Author Award for his outstanding body of work, including his Alex McKnight series and the stand-alone novel Night Work.  His book The Lock Artist is the winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.  He lives in Cottekill, New York with his wife and their two children.

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.