Look who's coming to the Library this fall!  

 A. J. JACOBS - Author of The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

Sunday, October 4, 5:30 p.m.

LUCINDA SCALA QUINN - Author of Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys

Thursday, October 22, 7 p.m.

 MICHAEL MAUBOUSSIN - Author of Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition

Sunday, November 1, 5:30 p.m.

DAVID BALDACCI - Author of True Blue

 Thursday, November 5, 7 p.m.

CHRIS WELLES FEDER - Author of In My Father's Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles

Sunday, November 15, 5:30 p.m.

Click here for all the details.

Last spring, we held a special evening of storytelling for adults at the Darien Library...it was a wonderful, warm gathering full of laughter, memories, old friends, new friends, and most of all, stories. We heard folktales, personal stories, ancient myths and legends, and modern-day stories that reminded us all of the connections -- and differences -- between us.

With cooler nights and shorter days upon us, it's time again to gather in a circle and share that magical connection between storytellers and listeners. Whether we've stood on a stage in front of hundreds or just listened and enjoyed the delicious mix that happens in a circle like this, the power of storytelling brings us all together for an experience that is unlike any other. Please join our circle at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 17 and we promise an evening that will welcome, entertain, and amaze you! 

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

A Photographic Exhibition by Elsie Trask Wheeler

In the Art Gallery through October 12th

On Friday, September 11th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m, there will be an Artist's Reception in the Art Gallery on the Library's Lower Level.

All are welcome.

At left, Elsie Trask Wheeler. To read the artist's statement, please click on the attachment below.

It is with tremendous (practically pulse-pounding!) excitement that we (once again) bring you calendar-worthy news for the fall! Technically, our Fall Author Series doesn't begin until October, but we are putting you on early alert because we believe that you will want to get these dates in ink right away! And, if you're like us and love early alerts and up-to-the-minute news, you'll love our tweets. If you're worried that you may miss what's happening at the Library, please follow us on Twitter.

Prepare  yourself for an autumn at Darien Library that includes talk of strange experiments...survival...power...murder...and a peek into the personal life of a Hollywood icon.

Please join us for...

A. J. JACOBS - Author of The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment

Sunday, October 4, 5:30 p.m.

From the writer who read the entire encyclopedia (The Know-it-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World) and followed every rule of the Bible for one year (The Year of Living Biblically), comes his most outrageous and thought-provoking series of adventures yet. In The Guinea Pig Diaries, A. J. Jacobs immerses himself in nine different lifestyles, including living undercover as a beautiful woman, outsourcing his life to India (the best month of his life), and practicing extreme honesty (the worst month of his life).  With each experiment, he learns surprisingly profound lessons about love, business, fame, and marriage. Editor-at-large of Esquire, contributor to NPR, and a columnist for mental_floss magazine, Jacobs's new book is so side-splittingly hilarious, it should come with a warning label! (Suggested "experiment" from me: Just try to read the first chapter of The Guinea Pig Diaries on the train without making a spectacle of yourself! I don't think it can be done.)

A wine and cheese reception and book signing will follow the presentation.

LUCINDA SCALA QUINN - Author of Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys

Thursday, October 22, 7 p.m.

 Lucinda Scala Quinn, Vice President and Editorial Director of Food and Entertaining of Martha Stewart Omnimedia, has three sons and a husband who love to eat. Perhaps best known for her regular appearances on NBC's Today and Martha, as well as hosting her weekly radio show and co-hosting PBS's Everyday Food, this popular chef, cooking teacher, caterer, food writer and expert has created a cookbook that hopes to help "civilize the wild beasts in your life, one meal at a time." Mad Hungry is a practical cookbook that contains recipes for nutritious and homemade meals, provides cooking techniques and survival strategies, and offers advice for teaching men and boys to create meals for themselves.

 A wine and cheese reception and book signing will follow the presentation.

 MICHAEL MAUBOUSSIN - Author of Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition

Sunday, November 1, 5:30 p.m.

Why does it seem so difficult to make sound business decisions? In his newest book, Think Twice, Michael Mauboussin, author of the critically-acclaimed More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places, explains how to avoid common mental missteps when making important judgment calls. Sharing vivid stories from business and beyond, he explains how to know when to think twice, question your reasoning, and adopt decision-making strategies that are far more effective, even if they seem counterintuitive. Michael Mauboussin is Chief Investment Strategist at Legg Mason Capital Management and an adjunct professor of finance at Columbia Business School.

 A wine and cheese reception and book signing will follow the presentation.

DAVID BALDACCI - Author of True Blue

 Thursday, November 5, 7 p.m.

David Baldacci, the internationally acclaimed author of 17 bestselling novels, will speak about his newest book, True Blue. This thriller, set in Washington D.C., follows wrongfully disgraced police officer Mason "Mace" Perry and young lawyer Roy Kingman as they investigate murders that put them on a collision course with the dark side of national security. True Blue is definitely a page-turner from (trust me!) page two. (It is a mystery to me how the author does that!)

David Baldacci is best known for his Camel Club series and the King and Maxwell series. Over 90 million of his books appear in print and are published worldwide in at least 45 languages.

A wine and cheese reception and book signing will follow the presentation.

CHRIS WELLES FEDER - Author of In My Father's Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles

Sunday, November 15, 5:30 p.m.

Orson Welles's oldest daughter, Chris Welles Feder, has written a revealing book about one of cinema's greatest icons. Though many books have been written about Orson Welles, the mastermind behind such films as Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil, none have provided the deeply personal and nuanced portrait that emerges from Welles Feder's memories of her father. In My Father's Shadow offers a moving and insightful look at life lived in the shadow of a legendary figure; it is an immensely entertaining story of growing up a child of Hollywood.

A wine and cheese reception and book signing will follow the presentation.

This fall, we’ll be traveling the globe via the written and spoken word! Darien librarians will lead lively and thought-provoking discussions about four recent novels that take the reader to faraway places and different times. Our book selections provide the opportunity to explore distant countries, new cultures, and different eras…without the jetlag!

We’ll wrap up our Book Discussion Series at the Library on Tuesday, December 1st at 7 PM with a special guest lecture by Dr. Mark Schenker, Associate Dean at Yale College, of Yale University. His presentation, “Imagined Travels to Real Places: How Fiction Connects Us to Places We’ve Never Been,” will combine the theme of this series with his literary expertise and is certain to be enlightening and entertaining!

	Little Bee by Chris Cleave Tuesday, September 29, 7 PM
	A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam Tuesday, October 13, 7 PM?
	The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein? Tuesday, November 3, 7 PM ?
	The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery? Tuesday, November 17, 7 PM
And don't forget to mark your calendars for this can't-miss event! Guest lecture by Dr. Mark Schenker, Associate Dean, Yale College, of Yale University? Imagined Travels to Real Places: How Fiction Connects Us to Places We've Never Been Tuesday, December 1, 7 PM

...please stop by.

In the Art Gallery Now Through This Afternoon

 Patrick Madden's 'LEAVING NEW YORK CITY"

It's an exquisite exhibit and one that would be a shame to miss. We'll be sorry to see "Leaving New York City" leave. Please stop by while you still have the chance!

(l-r: Soho Rain Shared, Times Square V, Cab in From JFK)

A Photographic Exhibition by Elsie Trask Wheeler

September 1 - October 12 (Artist's Reception: Friday, September 11, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.)

 ...just a hint at what you will see.

Last week, I had the immense pleasure of enjoying a preview of the ART ON VIEW at the Library. This video, bits and pieces of the whole, truly only provides a hint at the extraordinary photos that will be on display at this exhibition. 

Like I said, this is just a hint at what's to come. (We''ve got more to tell you, so please check back.) Below, a bit about Elsie Trask Wheeler...in her own words. 

"The idea of creating images has woven its way through every aspect of my life. Skiing down the slopes of the Alps, or trying to spot a tiger from the back of an elephant, or hoping to catch a shot of the colorful spinnakers on boats trying to pass as I stood on the fantail of a competing yacht,  I was never without my 35mm camera.  Being in the thick of the action, getting that split second shot was a central component of my love of photography.  What else fueled my thrill of bringing back exciting images, which I wanted to share. A warm love of people, a gift of endless curiosity, that feeling of having to know what is around the next corner.

How did I learn to master the little black box?  My father and uncle were both excellent amateur photographers. They provided the implicit permission for me to take myself seriously as a photographer when a teenager. Their darkrooms were haunts of magic and wonder to my young mind."

Please come by and experience this show. 

Cinda Baxter, the Founder of The 3/50 Project, will speak at the Library at 6 p.m. on September 8. This event is free and open to the public. 

Relying on the simple premise “Pick 3, spend 50, save your local economy,” The 3/50 Project exploded onto the national stage as a way to help brick and mortar businesses reclaim consumer dollars in a positive, effective manner.

Cinda Baxter (pictured) understands small business from the inside out, having once been a retailer herself. As recipient of two national Retailer Excellence Awards and frequent press coverage, she now “pays it forward” to business owners and vendors through her consulting company Always Upward, and as founder of The 3/50 Project that Fox Business News refers to as “the formula that could save some local businesses that might not otherwise survive the recession.”  

Cinda urges us to "Save your local economy...three stores at a time."

For more information, please click on the attachments below.

Please join us for this important community event.

August 21st at 7:30 p.m.

The Soloist 

Usually, our "green" news has to do with our fabulous new green building, but this time it's with a capital G, as in Green, as in George Dawes Green, who was our featured speaker at our Adult Summer Reading Grand Finale last week. In case you don't know already... his newest novel, the fabulously-reviewed Ravens is my favorite book of the summer. When the author agreed to come to Darien Library to speak, I was expecting something really good...possibly GREAT...what we got was AMAZING.!

There's something about a Southerner being in the room that slows the whole pace down just a bit. When you factor in the remarkable writing and storytelling ability and his skill at provoking thriller-worthy tension for the reader/listener, George Dawes Green was the perfect tonic for the lull of August. Just as he does in Ravens, he drew everyone in instantly. Thrills. Laughter. Pin-dropping tension. His genre is the thriller. His writing is poetic. His storytelling, masterful. This was goosebumps in August.

We can't mention George Dawes Green's incredible storytelling ability without mentioning that he is the founder of The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization. That's the very basic description...if you saw this past Sunday's New York Times, then you know it's much bigger than that. The Sunday Styles section led with a (huge!) fabulous article about The Moth. We are so pleased that George agreed to spend some time with us and share his great talent.

This special author event was the highlight of our Grand Finale for our Adult Summer Reading Program but that night, we also had the drawing for the Grand Prize winners. Considering the hundreds of entries that we had, it was such fun that all three winners were in the audience that night! Here are just a few more shots from this extraordinary event.

 Thank you to everyone (members...staff....George) for making this our most successful Adult Summer Reading Program ever!