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April 30, 2007
May is Sports and National Physical Fitness Month!
We think reading about sports is an appropriate activity to mark the occasion. And Mark Twain once said “I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting.” But we all know it takes more than that to keep in shape.
The Library has a good collection of fitness and exercise books for every age and mobility level.
Need help in perfecting your sport of choice? No matter what your sport – baseball, tennis, swimming or table tennis – check out our collection of how-to, coaching and training guides.
Posted by MaryF at 09:48 AM
April 23, 2007
Brush up your Shakespeare
Happy Birthday to the bard of Stratford upon Avon!
Don't miss these recent works that are guaranteed to get you ready for all those Shakespeare Festivals this summer. We also have copies of the plays and sonnets so, like the song says, start quoting him now.
Martin Reed's Reduced Shakespeare : the attention-impaired readers guide to the world's best playwright (abridged)
Ron Rosenbaum's The Shakespeare wars : clashing scholars, public fiascos, palace coups
Peter Ackroyd's Shakespeare: the biography
Posted by MaryF at 10:25 AM
April 20, 2007
The daffodils are yellower
than any idea of yellow
-- from the poem "Second Look" by Natalie Safir
What better way to celebrate both Earth Day and National Poetry Month than by joining us at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 22nd for The Poet's Voice. Natalie Safir is the author of four collections of poetry and her poems have appeared in numerous anthologies and journals. Raised in New York City and now living in Tarrytown Ms. Safir has been teaching poetry and writing for more than twenty years. We are delighted she will be with us for this annual spring Library event.
Posted by MaryF at 01:02 PM
April 18, 2007
Darien readers know a good book when they read it.
Darien Library readers who participated in Jordon Pecile’s book discussion series this spring were ahead of the curve when it came to praising Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road. Since their March 25th discussion, the book was chosen as an Oprah's Books feature and this week was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Other Pulitzer prize winners popular with Darien Readers are Debby Applegate’s biography of Henry Ward Beecher and Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower. It was also wonderful to see Ornette Coleman win a Pulitzer Prize for his album, Sound Grammar.
Posted by MaryF at 10:23 AM
April 13, 2007
So it goes
We will miss you Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Your stories, the laughter, and lessons they taught us will remain in our hearts forever.
Posted by MaryF at 04:22 PM
April 10, 2007
Elizabeth Spencer wins the PEN/Malamud Award
The work of Southern writers is the richest in American literature and here's another reason to delve into Southern fiction if you haven't already. The author of The Light in the Piazza and the memoir Landscapes of the Heart has won the 20th annual PEN/Malamud Award honoring excellence in the art of the short story. Elizabeth Spencer is the author of seven collections of short fiction, including the 2001 The Southern Woman. Born and raised in Mississippi and currently teaching at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Ms. Spencer's work exhibits a recognizably Southern sensibility. Woman and girls are her characters and their relationships make up the stories. Don't miss reading this classic American author.
Posted by MaryF at 08:53 AM