Singer Priyanka to Perform @ Bernardsville Library

Bernardsville resident and singer Priyanka will perform with drummer Daniel Mayer in free concert at Bernardsville Public Library on Sunday, January 27 at 3:00 pm.  Part of the “Sundays at Three” series, this concert is funded by the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library.  Doors open at 2:45 pm.  No sign-up is needed.

Priyanka has been playing and writing music since she was 13 and has been in love with it ever since.  She plays guitar and piano, and sings original songs as well as classic rock, jazz, and blues tunes.  Some artists that influence her the most, she says, are the Beatles, Etta James, Otis Redding, and Fiona Apple.  "I enjoy covering songs and developing my own interpretation of some of my favorites as well as writing songs of my own but most of all I love playing for people to hear."

There is no charge to attend the concert and no sign-up is needed.  For further 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, January 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 "The Good Girls Revolt” (2012) by Lynn Povich. [The author will not be present.]

The book describes the time of economic boom and social strife in the 1960s, how young women poured into the workplace, but the “Help Wanted” ads were segregated by gender and office culture was rife with sexual stereotyping and discrimination.  Author Lynn Povich was one of the lucky ones, landing a job at Newsweek, along with Nora Ephron, Jane Bryant Quinn, Ellen Goodman, and Susan Brownmiller.  It was a top-notch job--for a girl--but it was a dead end.   In 1970, forty-six Newsweek women charged the magazine with discrimination in hiring and promotion.  It was the first female class action lawsuit--the first by women journalists--and it inspired other women in the media to quickly follow suit.

Lynn Povich was one of the ringleaders.  In "The Good Girls Revolt," she tells the story of this dramatic turning point through the lives of several participants.  With warmth, humor, and perspective, she shows how personal experiences and cultural shifts led a group of well-mannered, largely apolitical women, raised in the 1940s and 1950s, to challenge their bosses and what happened after they did.  

Gloria Steinem wrote, "The Good Girls Revolt is as compelling as any novel, and also an accurate, intimate history of new women journalists invading the male journalistic world of the 1970s. Lynn Povich turns this epic revolt into a lesson on why and how we've just begun."

Lynn Povich began her career at Newsweek as a secretary. In 1975 she became the first woman senior editor in the magazine’s history. Since leaving Newsweek in 1991, Povich has been editor-in-chief of Working Woman magazine and managing editor/senior executive producer for MSNBC.Com.

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

Storm Stories: A Writing Workshop

Almost every resident has memories and stories to tell about the experience of living through Hurricane Sandy.  To help you record those memories, join Julie Maloney, writer and poet, and director of Women Reading Aloud, for a writing workshop at Bernardsville Public Library on Saturday, January 19 at 2:00 pm. There listeners will learn on how to effectively express their thoughts in written form.  "Have fun and tap into your "voice" as you recall, reflect and move to the page," said Ms. Maloney, "Years down the road, your recollections will be there for you and your family, as vivid as they are today."

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 fourth Greece Writer’s Retreat on the island of Alonnisos in the North Sporades.

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.

Jumpstart Your Job Search

If you're looking for a new job, have you thought about how employers make hiring decisions or wondered what information you should include in a professional introduction?  For answers to these and related questions, come to Bernardsville Public Library on Saturday, January 19 at 10:00 am to hear management consultant Leo Lin help jumpstart your job search by applying consulting skills.  He’ll discuss how candidates can differentiate themselves, what skills are highly valued by employers, and how employers make hiring decisions.  He will also share insights and tips on how to become more effective at work and more valuable to employers.  His tips, many of which can be easily applied to personal lives, emphasize planning and preparation, and will help listeners save time and effort in the long run.

Mr. Lin, a resident of Basking Ridge, has made a career out of helping others reach and surpass their potential.  He has been a management consultant and corporate trainer for more than 15 years, as well as a Boy Scout merit badge counselor, a track, soccer and volleyball coach. 

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. 

"Yoga Basics" Classes

In a partnership between Bernardsville Public Library and Bernardsville Recreation, a six-session course on yoga basics will be offered in the library's Community Room on Tuesdays, January 15 to February 19 at 1:00 pm.  Taught by Julie Shaw of Lotus Mind and Body, the total cost for the 6-week session is $5.00.  Registration is through Bernardsville Recreation’s Community Pass portal, https://register.communitypass.net.  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.

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 ten 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.

50 Book Challenge Group to Meet

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. Community members are invited to come to the next meeting of the 50 Book Challenge on Saturday, January 12 at 3:00 pm in the library’s Community Room. At the meeting, which will include animated discussion, reading suggestions and snacks, ambitious readers will trade notes on their progress as well as book recommendations. New members are welcome at any time during the year and will be invited to additional events in the coming months.

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 information and resources for the 50 Book Challenge, go to the library's homepage, www.bernardsvillelibrary.org, and click on Adult Programs and then Book Discussions and 50 Book Challenge. You can sign up from this webpage or by calling the library at 908-766-0118.

Pre-School Fair @ Bernardsville Library

Choosing a pre-school for a child can be a daunting experience.  To make the task a little easier, Bernardsville Public Library will host its fourth Pre-School Fair on Wednesday, January 9 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm (snow date: January 16) to allow parents with young children to gather information about local pre-schools in one convenient location.  Parents can take this opportunity to speak to representatives from many area ­­­­­­­pre-schools and enrichment programs, and to ask questions about subjects such as curriculum, programs and registration.  Specific questions about family needs or special requirements will also be answered. There is no charge to attend and no sign-up is necessary.  Call the library at 908-766-0118 for further information.