image courtesy Flickr user Evan Sims

Thursday, August 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Apps for The Great Outdoors

Now that you have that new iPhone, iPad, or Android, why not deck it out with the latest apps? With so many apps on the market, it can be difficult to know which ones are best. Luckily, our tech experts have sifted through them to bring you the best apps this summer. In August, we'll discover ways to look up hiking trails, identify plants, and check the weather using our fancy mobile devices. Join us!

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

Best in Show, Sergey Stepaneko with his painting, Hudson River View

June 11th to July 18th on the Lower Level

Come view the winners of the Darien Arts Center's 54th Annual Art Show & Sale! The adult winners in first, second, and third place will be available for viewing at the Library. Darien's residents exhibited a broad range of talent across various media types from paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and photgraphy. 

Show Pieces

Joseph Dermody, Reverie

Joseph Maccarone, Jackson

Mindy Green, The Deep Blue

Pierre Lahaussois, Musee de L'Armee

Pamela Lindberg, Baby Bird

Kyle King, Self

Michael Schley, Basket of Boxes

Michael Schley, Queensborough Bridge

Leslie van de Velde-Laughren, Isabelle

Stan Pastore, Covered Bridge

Bela Szabo, Tiger Lily

Cynthia Whalen, Lavendar Sky

Karen Neems, Untitled: Blue Birds Waiting

William Whalen, Koi Pond I and II

Karen Vogel, Labyrinth

Betty Ball, Anemones in Blue No. 3

Roz Emmons, Remember

Information

For more information, please visit the Darien Arts Center. To inquire about purchasing a work, please contact Cathy.

Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry are the Book Doctors

Thursday, July 12 at 7 p.m.

It’s “American Idol” for books! Literary agent Arielle Eckstut and author David Henry Sterry team up with two guest industry insiders to form a panel of judges. The judges critique everything from idea to style to potential in the marketplace and much, much more. Whether potential authors pitch themselves or simply listen to trained professionals critique each presentation, Pitchapaloozas are educational and entertaining for one and all. The winner receives a half hour consultation with Eckstut and Sterry.

Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry are co-founders of The Book Doctors, a company dedicated to helping authors get their books published. They are also co-authors of The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How To Write It, Sell It, and Market It… Successfully. Arielle Eckstut has been a literary agent for 18 years at The Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. She is also the author of seven books and the co-founder of the iconic brand, LittleMissMatched. David Henry Sterry is the best-selling author of 12 books, on a wide variety of subject including memoir, sports, YA fiction and reference. They have taught their workshop on how to get published everywhere from Stanford University to Smith College. They have appeared everywhere from The New York Times to NPR’s Morning Edition to USA Today.

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

Flickr image courtesy Martin Burns

Tuesdays from 10 to 11 AM: June 12 to July 10

Meet our resident eBook expert on Main Street to find out how to download eBooks from the Library straight to your Kindle, iPad, nook, or other device. We'll tell you about those funny looking 3M machines on Main Street and get you reading on your iPhone or Android.

Friday, August 10 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. -- SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN (2011) Starring Ewan McGregor, Amr Waked, and Emily Blunt; Rated PG-13; 107 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

When Britain’s leading fishing expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheikh’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert, he immediately thinks the project is both absurd and unachievable. But when the Prime Minister’s overzealous press secretary latches on to it as a ‘good will’ story, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible.

"A charming little movie." -- Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

"Trust me: These are characters with whom it's a pleasure to spend a couple of hours." -- Lou Lumenick, New York Post

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

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

Friday, July 6 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. -- LIKE CRAZY (2011) Starring Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, and Jennifer Lawrence; Rated PG-13; 90 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship.

"Felicity Jones will break your heart at least once in Like Crazy." -- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

"The couple's story is related through small, true-to-life details that paint an unidealized portrait of love - the euphoria, the sadness, and everything in between." -- Eric D. Snider, Film.com

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out what else we're screening in July.

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

Carroll Stenson

“It’s Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy”. So easy,  that hopefully you can take time to come to our popular, summer short story series. Our snow bird, Carroll Stenson, is back. Rested from her winter in Florida, she is prepared with new stories, to lead us in  thought provoking and life illuminating discussions.

Our program will begin on Tuesday, June 19 at 3:00 p.m. in the Darien Library Conference Room and will continue every Tuesday (excluding July 3) through August 21. The first story is “A  Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner.  Copies are available at the Welcome Desk.

In subsequent weeks stories will be passed out at the end of each session or may be picked up at the Welcome Desk. 

Please join us and share with other short story enthusiasts.

Thursday, July 12 at 3 p.m.

Because the ukulele has four strings, it only requires four fingers to play, so it’s easy to learn even if you’ve never held an instrument. During this hands-on workshop, we’ll have you “Mahalo-ing” in no time. We’ll provide the ukes and you provide the flavor.

"UncleZac" has performed in several bands including Sharkey & The Unknowns, a local 50’s and 60’s oldies/motown group, PT & the cruisers, a 60‘s and 70‘s doo-rock group, Roswell & the Ukulaliens, a five piece ukulele band, and also acted as “uke consultant” to the Darien High School Ukulele Group. As a solo uke performer at various venues from the Gershwin Hotel in NYC to local senior centers, he plays music from Leon Redbone to Jimmy Buffett to Allan Sherman and more. Even though he is primarily a bari player, he never travels with only one uke because as Fred Fallin says, “each one has a different voice” that adds it’s own flavor to any song.

Space is limited. To register, please contact Erin Shea, Head of Adult Programming at 203-669-5232, or via email at eshea@darienlibrary.org.  

Friday, July 13 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. -- WANDERLUST (2012) Starring Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, and Justin Theroux; Rated R; 98 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

This comedy is about a couple who leaves the big city pressures of Manhattan and joins a freewheeling community where the only rule is to be yourself. But as they learn to shed the worries of their lives and assume the commune's free spirit mentality, there is a chance that their newfound perspective could cause more problems than it solves.

"... you probably won't see a funnier movie all year." -- Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out what else we're screening in July.

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

Maggie Shipstead credit: Alisha & Brook Photographers

Monday, July 16 at 7 p.m.

Maggie Shipstead, author of Seating Arrangements, will be our featured speaker.

Winn Van Meter is heading for his family’s retreat on the pristine New England island of Waskeke. Normally a haven of calm, for the next three days this sanctuary will be overrun by tipsy revelers as Winn prepares for the marriage of his daughter Daphne to the affable young scion Greyson Duff. Winn’s wife, Biddy, has planned the wedding with military precision, but arrangements are sideswept by a storm of salacious misbehavior and intractable lust: Daphne’s sister, Livia, who has recently had her heart broken by Teddy Fenn, the son of her father’s oldest rival, is an eager target for the seductive wiles of Greyson’s best man; Winn, instead of reveling in his patriarchal duties, is tormented by his long-standing crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid Agatha; and the bride and groom find themselves presiding over a spectacle of misplaced desire, marital infidelity, and monumental loss of faith in the rituals of American life.

About the Author

Maggie Shipstead was born in 1983 and grew up in Orange County, California. Her short fiction has appeared in Tin House, VQR, Glimmer Train, The Best American Short Stories, and other publications. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a recipient of the Stegner Fellowship from Stanford University.

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