May Book Discussion: Slaughterhouse-Five

The Phillipsburg Public Library Discussion Group will discuss Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28 in the library community room. All are welcome to attend, and no registration is required.

This modern-day classic tells the tale of Billy Pilgrim, a P.O.W. and a witness (like Vonnegut himself) to the bombing of Dresden during World War II. Billy has become “unstuck in time” after having been abducted by aliens, and his narrative is thus fractured and disoriented, comical and heartbreaking.

If you can't attend the in-person discussion (or even if you can), you can comment on the book here.

Links:
Kurt Vonnegut’s official web site

Hot Poets!

Just out of curiousity, I used our computerized library system to see which American poets get checked out most often by PFPL patrons. The overwhelming winner is Sylvia Plath. Her poetry books have checked out 84 times, and her letters and journals 59 times. Next most popular is Maya Angelou, then Mary Oliver and Robert Frost.

Looking at the British poets, Chaucer is the most popular. Go figure!

Poetry Night at PFPL

On Wednesday, April 23, the book discussion group, instead of reading one novel or nonfiction piece, will read poetry together. We tried this last April and it was a resounding success, and not as genteel as you might think. We have a couple of published poets among us, but for the most part we will be reading poems written by others. Here's one by Emily Dickinson:

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, -
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few.

Got poetry? Add a comment here.

Historical Fiction for Women's History Month

The library is displaying fiction and nonfiction on the topic of women's history this month. Here is a list of some fiction titles:

Allende, Isabel, Daughter of fortune
Barton, Emily, Brookland
Bowen, Rhys, In like Flynn
Cross, Donna Woolfolk, Pope Joan
Dean, Debra, The Madonnas of Leningrad
Dillard, Annie, The Living
Dunant, Sarah, In the company of the courtesan
Faulks, Sebastian, Charlotte Gray
Frazer, Margaret, The Hunter's tale
Goldberg, Myla, Wickett's remedy
Gregory, Philippa, The other Boleyn girl
Hambly, Barbara, Patriot hearts: a novel of the founding mothers
Lowenthal, Michael, Charity girl
Mackin, Jeanne, The Queen's war: a novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine
Maxwell, Robin, The Queen's bastard
May, Antoinette, Pilate's wife: a novel of the Roman Empire
Naslund, Sena Jeter, Abundance: a novel of Marie Antoinette
O'Brien, Patricia, Harriet and Isabella
Piercy, Marge, Sex wars
Rabb, Jonathan, Rosa
Weir, Alison, Innocent traitor

March Book Discussion: A Thousand Splendid Suns

The Phillipsburg Public Library Discussion Group will discuss A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26 in the library community room. All are welcome to attend, and no registration is required.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is Hosseini’s powerful follow-up to The Kite Runner. This time, the focus is on women. Two women born a generation apart witness the destruction of their home and family in war-torn Kabul, losses incurred over the course of thirty years that test the limits of their strength and courage.

If you can't attend the discussion in person (or even if you can), post your comments to this blog. I myself will be attending the Public Library Association that week, so I'll be leaving my two cents here.

Library Elf

You may know that if you have an email address, you receive automatic reminders a couple of days before your books are due. (If your email address is registered with us and you are not getting reminders, check your spam folder).

There is also a service called Library Elf which emails notices, not just about books coming due but also about requests you've made that have just arrived. The format is horrible, but the information is all there. Library Elf has one feature that beats our own system - when your requested item comes in, you can get a text message on your cell phone. How's that for convenience? Check it out at www.libraryelf.com.

Book List: Black History

Here are some historical fiction titles on African American themes. The library owns all of them. Check the online catalog, PowerPac, for availability.

Strivers Row - Kevin Baker
Such Sweet Thunder - Vincent O. Carter
A Lesson Before Dying - Ernest J. Gaines
The Known World - Edward P. Jones
Sugar - Bernice L. McFadden
Cane River - Lalita Tademy
Douglass' Women - Jewell Parker Rhodes
A Conversation with the Mann - John Ridley
Home Across the Road - Nancy Peacock

February Book Discussion: A Year in Provence

The Phillipsburg Public Library Discussion Group will discuss A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27, in the library community room.

In 1986, Peter Mayle and his wife decided to move from England to the south of France. They bought an old farmhouse and spent a year restoring it with the help of local masons, plumbers and other workers who teach him about Provencal ways. Amazon .com says "A Year in Provence is part memoir, part homeowner's manual, part travelogue, and all charming fun."

If you can't attend the discussion in person (or even if you can) you can post your comments about the book here.