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Every Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., February 1 through April 12

Tax-Aide, a FREE tax preparation and e-filing program administered by the AARP Foundation in conjunction with and under the auspices of the IRS, is coming to Darien Library. Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation service and is available to all individual filers regardless of income or age.

This service will be available every Friday, February 1 through April 12, from 9:30-1:30. Appointments are optional but can be made by calling 203-669-5236. There is no charge for the Tax-Aide service. Individuals should bring all 2012 tax forms (W-2s, 1099s, brokerage statements, etc.) Social Security and other official identification, and their 2011 return, if possible.

We will screen HITCHCOCK in our Community Room April 12.

Friday, April 12 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. – Hitchcock (2013) Starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlet Johansson; Rated PG-13; 98 minutes. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

This film lays bare the captivating and complex love story between Alfred Hitchcock and his steadfast wife and filmmaking collaborator, Alma Reville. It does so through the sly, shadowy lens of their most daring filmmaking adventure: the making of the spine-tingling 1960 thriller, Psycho, which would become the director’s most controversial and legendary film.

"Filmed with lots of style and a macabre sense of humor the master himself would have enjoyed." -- Richard Roeper, RichardRoeper.com

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

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

Playing in our Community Room Dec. 28.

Friday, December 28 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. – Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) Starring Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, and Karan Soni; Rated R; 86 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

When an unusual classified ad inspires three cynical Seattle magazine employees to look for the story behind it, they discover a mysterious eccentric named Kenneth, a likable but paranoid supermarket clerk, who believes he¹s solved the riddle of time travel and intends to depart again soon.

"Safety Not Guaranteed is droll and hilarious, but there isn't a cheap laugh in it, and the ending is so perfect it sends you soaring." -- Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

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

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

Showing in our Community Room January 23

Wednesday, January 23 at 6:30 p.m. - Escape Fire (2012) Documentary Feature; Rated PG-13; 99 minutes.

Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time: how can we save our badly broken healthcare system? American healthcare costs are rising so rapidly that they could reach $4.2 trillion annually, roughly 20% of our gross domestic product, within ten years. We spend $300 billion a year on pharmaceutical drugs – almost as much as the rest of the world combined. We pay more, yet our health outcomes are worse. About 65% of Americans are overweight and almost 75% of healthcare spending goes to preventable diseases that are the major causes of disability and death in our society.

It’s not surprising that healthcare is at the top of many Americans' concerns and at the center of an intense political firestorm in our nation's Capitol. But the current battle over cost and access does not ultimately address the root of the problem: we have a disease-care system, not a healthcare system. The film examines the powerful forces maintaining the status quo, a medical industry designed for quick fixes rather than prevention, for profit-driven care rather than patient-driven care.

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

A Q&A led by Dr. Henri Roca, Medical Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at Greenwich Hospital, will follow the film. Dr. Roca is a Diplomat of both the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Holistic Integrative Medicine. He currently provides both primary care and consultation services across all ages. Dr. Roca serves on behalf of Yale as a member of the Executive Board of the Consortia of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine. He received his M.D. from Louisiana State University, completing his internship and residency in Family Medicine through Marshall University.

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

Andrew Solomon's FAR FROM THE TREE

SPRING 2013 BOOK DISCUSSION SERIES

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

We are getting ready for our Spring Book Discussion Series! Below, are the book selections and discussion dates.

Please join us in our Conference Room this Spring 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.

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity
by Andrew Solomon

Tuesday, March 12 at 7 p.m.

Chapters:
Son, pp. 1-49
Deaf, pp. 49-114
Dwarf, pp. 115-179
Transgender, pp. 599-679

The Round House
by Louise Erdrich
Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m.

Stitches
by David Small
Tuesday, May 14 at 7 p.m.

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

We will screen The Words Friday, January 25

Friday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. – The Words (2012) Starring Bradley Cooper, Zoe Zaldana, Dennis Quaid; Rated PG-13; 97 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

This layered romantic drama follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There’s only one catch – he didn’t write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man’s work and for placing ambition and success above life’s most fundamental three words.

"This is a film that's thoughtful and elegant..." -- Tom Long, Detroit News

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

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

Image courtesy of Flickr user wundercapo

Darien Library and The Middlesex Genealogical Society Present

Military Records Research

Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 2 p.m.

Join Tony Lauriano as he  explores an easy step-by-step approach to procuring military records, including draft registration cards, separation papers, certification of mili-tary service, serial number index, medal replacements and cold war certificates of recognition, and civil war enrollments and pension files.

Mr. Lauriano has been a genealogy instructor for five years and has published a number of articles in The Italian Genealogical Group Magazine. He is a regular lecturer on genealogical subjects throughout the tri-state area.

Becky Aikman [Photo credit Nina Subin]

Thursday, January 31 at 7 p.m.

Becky Aikman, author of Saturday Night Widows, will be our featured speaker.

One night in 2010, Becky Aikman convened the first meeting of what she called the “Saturday Night Widows”—a group of six women (she among them) shocked to find themselves widowed in the middle of their lives. Becky’s idea was to create an amateur support group to help one another not only past the toughest transition they’d ever made, but to reinvent themselves in the face of grief and build their lives anew.

When they first made a pact to spend their Saturday nights together, the women didn’t know what to expect. They did, however, know that even in their sadness, they shared a desire to find happiness again; to reengage with work, friends, children, and pleasure; and perhaps to find new love. The friendships and adventures that evolved among these women with little in common other than young widowhood are at the heart of Saturday Night Widows.

About the Author

A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia University, Becky Aikman was a writer and editor for Businessweek and a reporter for Newsday. She lives in New York City.

Books will be available for purchase at this event. Refreshments will be served.

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

We will discuss CITY OF THIEVES Tuesday, April 16.

Tuesday, April 16 at 7 p.m.

Join in on the discussion and share your thoughts about Lev, Kolya, and Vika’s journey through Leningrad to obtain the coveted dozen eggs.

Library staff members will lead the discussion.

This program is part of our One Book, One Community series. The book selected for the town-wide read is City of Thieves by David Benioff, who will be speaking at the Library Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. The book selected for young readers is Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

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

Showing Wednesday, January 16 at 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 16 at 1:30 p.m. - Liberal Arts (2012); Starring Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olson, and Zac Efron; Rated PG-13; 97 minutes. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

When 30-something Jesse returns to his alma mater for a professor's retirement party, he falls for Zibby, a college student, and is faced with a powerful attraction that springs up between them.

"An artful blend of tenderness and sharp, clear-eyed observations. Its characters talk like real people -- who also happen to be smart, appealing and thoughtful." -- Claudia Puig, USA Today

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