Photo courtesy of Flickr user umjanedoan.

Storytelling -- it's the age-old art of sharing legends, family lore, personal experiences, folktales, and funny anecdotes. It's the way we share what's important to us and connect with others. Darien Library is hosting a storytelling circle for grown-ups this Thursday, September 27 at 7 PM. Join our circle and you'll hear professional and amateur tellers, and of course, you are welcome to share your own stories with us (or just come to listen!).

Our next circle will be November 7. We look forward to including you in an upcoming storytelling event here at Darien Library!
 

Emma Straub, author of Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures was the first speaker for our new series, First Look Darien. This series will highlight a first-time publishing author whom we think is going to go BIG!  For more information about Emma's visit, please see the original post.

We'll be screening THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL September 21.

Friday, September 7 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. – Darling Companion (2012) Starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline; Rated PG-13; 103 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

After Beth saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway on a wintry day in Denver, she forms a special bond with the animal. When her self-involved husband Joseph loses the dog after their daughter's wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies, Beth, distraught and angry with Joseph, enlists the help of the few remaining guests and a mysterious woman in a frantic search.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, September 14 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. – Footnote (2012) Starring Shlomo Bar-Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Aliza Rosen, Yuval Scharf, and Alma Zack; Rated PG; 103 minutes. In Hebrew with English subtitles.

This film tells the story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The son has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while his father is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition. The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, is the jewel that brings these two to a final, bitter confrontation.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, September 21 at 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson; Rated PG-13; 124 minutes. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

For a disparate group of English pensioners, retirement takes an unconventional turn when they abandon their homeland, enticed by advertisements for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a seemingly luxurious sanctuary for “the elderly and beautiful” in Jaipur, India. On arrival, they discover that the hotel falls somewhat short of the romantic idyll promised in the brochure, but they are gradually won over by the ever-optimistic young manager Sonny, and tentatively embark on a new adventure, finding that life can begin again when you let go of the past.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. – Romantics Anonymous (2010) Starring Benoît Poelvoorde, Isabelle Carré and Lorella Cravotta; Not Rated; 80 minutes; In French with English subtitles.

Jean-Rene is the boss of a chocolate factory and Angelique is a talented chocolate maker. They are both emotionally-challenged people. Drawn together through a shared passion for chocolate, Jean-Rene and Angelique fall in love, but neither is able to express how they feel. Sadly, their crippling shyness is driving them apart. But eventually, they manage to overcome their lack of self-confidence, and risk baring their true feelings.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

All films are free and open to the public.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Are you an introvert?

Fall 2012 BOOK DISCUSSION SERIES

Character Counts

Here's one of our most-anticipated annual announcements!

We are getting ready for our Fall Book Discussion Series! Below, are the book selections and discussion dates. The theme of the series is Character Counts.

Please join us in our Conference Room this Fall as we read and discuss three carefully selected, critically-acclaimed, and discussion-worthy books. Library staff members will lead discussions. Prior reading of the books is not necessary to join the discussion.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking
by Susan Cain
Tuesday, September 18 at 7 p.m.

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures
by Emma Straub
Tuesday, October 16 at 7 p.m.

Bring Up the Bodies
by Hilary Mantel
Tuesday, November 27 at 7 p.m.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).

Starring Zac Efron

Wednesday, September 19 at 1:30 p.m. - THE LUCKY ONE (2012) Starring Taylor Schilling, Zac Efron, and Blythe Danner; Rated PG-13; 101 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive -- a photograph he found of a woman he doesn't even know. Learning her name is Beth and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm.

"...strong performances from Efron, Schilling and a scene-stealing Blythe Danner." - Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

For more information, please view the film's trailer.

Join us!

Wednesday, October 17 at 7 p.m. at The Goose

Join us for the very first meeting of Read, Ride, Imbibe, a book discussion group convenient for commuters but open to all. We will kick off this informal book discussion group with Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending in October. We'll be lending out copies of the book to morning commuters at the Darien train station during the week of September 24. Then on Wednesday, October 17, hop off the train after work and stroll on over to The Goose, conveniently located just a couple short blocks from the station.

The Sense of an Ending, National Bestseller and Winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, is a 161-page lightweight paperback--perfect for your commute.

We look forward to seeing you!

Showing in our Community Room October 19.

Friday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. -- MONSIEUR LAZHAR (2012) Starring Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, and Brigitte Poupart; Rated PG-13; 94 minutes. In French with English subtitles.

Monsieur Lazhar tells the poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher. Bachir Lazhar, a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, offers the school his services as a substitute teacher and is quickly hired. As he helps the children heal, he also learns to accept his own painful past.

Academy Award® Nominee 2012 – Best Foreign Language Film

"How do we get past tragedy? Together." -- Tom Long, Detroit News

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out the rest of our Friday Night Features in October.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Rosecrans Baldwin [Credit: Susie Post-Rust]

Friends of the Darien Library cordially invite you to the Annual Meeting

Saturday, October 20 at 5 p.m.

Please note the annual meeting is on Saturday, not Sunday as in the past.

Rosecrans Baldwin, author of the memoir Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down, will be the featured speaker. Baldwin’s first novel, You Lost Me There, was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2010, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and a Time and Entertainment Weekly Best Book of Summer 2010. Rosecrans’s essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Slate, and on NPR’s All Things Considered, among other publications. In 1999, Rosecrans co-founded the online magazine The Morning News, where he is an editor. He currently teaches in the writing program at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies.

Reviews for Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down:

“A charming, hilarious account of la vie Parisienne by an observant young American. Great fun and surprisingly touching.” - Kirkus (starred review)

“Puts a lot of French fantasies to rest—and replaces them with realities worthy of true love.” - Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Preceding the presentation, election of officers and new trustee nominations for the year 2012/2013 will take place.

Learn about the year's developments at Darien Library from Bruce Ferguson, President of the Board, and Louise Berry, Director of the Library.

Reception and book signing to follow. Books will be available for purchase.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Kate Rockland

Sunday, November 4 at 2 p.m. in our Conference Room

November is National Novel Writing Month and Kate Rockland, Darien resident and author of 150 Pounds, is excited to assist you on the fun and thrilling task of working on your first novel!

What you'll need:

- an idea for a book, even if it’s written on a napkin (that’s how J.K. Rowling started!)

- a notebook and a pen

- to register

Kate will help you with technical aspects such as how to work with Microsoft Word, conduct research on Amazon, navigate  Writer’s Market to find an agent, and write chapter summaries. She will pass out Character Outline forms that are a huge help in writing and publishing your first novel.

Please note this class will discuss only fiction writing, though many of the skills you will learn can be applied toward writing non-fiction.

Kate Rockland has worked as an editor for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, New York Magazine, and US Weekly. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the author of Falling is Like This and 150 Pounds, both published by St. Martin’s Press.

Space for this workshop is limited. Registration is open to all Darien residents, those who work in Darien full-time, and non-resident Friends of Darien Library (annual donation of $300). For more information, contact Erin Shea, Head of Adult Programming, at eshea@darienlibrary.org or 203-669-5232.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Logo courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Sunday, October 21st from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Join us in the Mezzanine Conference Room to start planning your National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) novel! NaNoWriMo takes place in November each year with a goal of writing 50,000 words in a month. This works out to be 1,667 words per day. Writing can be a lonely business, so we invite you to come write with other local writers! This is a laid back, brainstorming event so don't stress!

Darien Library is hosting this pre-frenzy plotting session, then one write-in during November, and then a follow-up session in December about what to do with your novel. We will also be hosting a Novel Writing Workshop. 

Information about NaNoWriMo

What is NaNoWriMo? 

Writing Tools (AKA the goodies)

Resources to help you write your novel