Showing Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m.

Wednesday Matinees continue with a special film screening!

Wednesday, March 10 at 2 p.m.  - A One Book, One Community Event

THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) -  Starring Henry Fonda and John Carradine; Not rated; 129 minutes

A poor Midwestern family is forced off their land and travels to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression. (Wow. Get a load of this early film trailer!) 

"The Grapes of Wrath is just about as good as any picture has a right to be; if it were any better, we just wouldn't believe our eyes." -  Frank S. Nugent - The New York Times

"There is a rigorous purity in [Ford's] visual style that serves the subject well. The Grapes of Wrath contains not a single shot that seems careless or routine." - Roger Ebert

To learn more about our One Book, One Community town-wide read, please click here.

Our next Monday at Seven meeting will be on Monday, March 15th from 7 - 9 a.m

On Monday, March 15th, Abby Kohut will be the featured speaker and the subject of her talk is "Job Search in 2010"

Abby Kohut is an HR & Talent Acquisition Leader, Career Success Speaker, Author and Blogger. She is the President of Staffing Symphony, LLC, and has 15 years of experience helping people find career success. Abby is a popular speaker at job search networking groups and has appeared on TV and radio shows. Abby's blogs on AbsolutelyAbby.com and her bi-weekly Career Wake Up Calls inspire job seekers to stay motivated as they continue their search for their ideal job. 

Coming Monday, March 22nd - Tim Pacileo of The Board Room Advisors will be the featured speaker.

Tim Pacileo will present an uplifting and inspiring 30 minute presentation on " Where Do I Go From Here".  Tim will cover the five key areas needing focus to regenerate self worth, get re-focused and reprioritized:

1. Family first and foremost
2. Looking at ALL your options
3. Short term vs. Long term job opportunities
4. Who's my competition today
5. The improving job market and staying motivated

Our goal with Monday at Seven has been (and continues to be) to provide a resource and meeting center for Job Seekers and Networkers by opening our doors every Monday from 7 to 9 a.m. Happily, we're helping many in the community achieve their goals, too.

Monday at Seven is open to residents of Darien and Darien Library members. Please join us. To read more about Monday at Seven, click here. To leave a comment, please click below. 

The men took over this week at Meet Us on Main Street! Alan and Kyle happily took over the Street and gave a really great presentation talking about their favorite books and films. We learned that Alan likes (LOVES!) series - highlighting the works of Patrick O'Brian, S. M. Stirling, W.E.B. Griffin, Robert Crais, and Robert B. Parker. He also talked about one of my (seriously) favorite series authors, Lee Child. Child's newest book, 61 Hours (his 14th Jack Reacher novel), comes out in May. (And just in case you missed the newest news about our Spring Author Series (speaking of series), Lee Child will be our featured speaker, on Sunday, June 6th at 5:30 p.m.!)

 The 24 Hours of Daytona has come and gone (it was enthralling in the rain!) as has Nascar's Daytona 500, testing at Sepang is underway for MotoGP, and American-based open wheel series Indy Car and its global sister Formula 1 have also started to take off the tire warmers for their respective seasons.  It's time once again for us as rabid spectators to great ready for another season of speed!

The library has items to get you geared up for the upcoming seasons, including my two favorite fast films: "Winning" with Paul Newman and "Le Mans" with Steve McQueen.  And as heart-pumping as a last lap draft pass at Indianapolis, "The Driver" by Alexander Roy will keep you strapped in as you witness the fastest trip across the continental United States.

If auto racing isn't your thing but cars are we've got a fine selection of driving tour books, texts on the history of automobiles, and even a guide to help you fight that pesky speeding ticket...

I hope these items keep your interest as you wait the following 87 days until the annual festival of speed known as the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500.  Not that I'm counting days or anything...

~Kyle Jones~

Calling all creative minds!

The Catherine Lindsey Memorial Actors/Playwrights Workshop Series, now in its 18th year, is returning to Darien Library! Workshops is take place this spring and will conclude with a public performance at the Library on Sunday, June 13 at 2 PM.

The Actors/Playwrights Workshop, co-founded by the late Catherine Lindsey and her husband Robert, brings together local and regional playwrights and actors (Equity and Non-Equity), and encourages a collaborative effort to create new plays and present a public-staged reading of short scenes from selected full-length plays, one-act plays, musicals, and monologues. Catherine Lindsey was a beloved friend of the Library and director of Darien Library Theater for over 25 years.

For each workshop session, the participating playwrights will be required to bring up to 10 pages of an unproduced and unpublished work-in-progress with sufficient copies for each character to be read by actors who attend. Each workshop will also include a short discussion led by Robert Cusack and Bridget Cusack. The public performance will conclude with works chosen by a selection committee.

To register or for more information, please contact Robert Cusack at (203) 655-7699 or at Robert.cusack1@att.net.
 

Where IS everybody?! They're at Darien Library, of course! Look at all that we have going on this month!

...and I'm not talking basketball here!

It's time to get those Blackberry, iPhone, and Droid calendars out. We've got a ton of events planned this month for adults, from author visits and an art lecture to film screenings and a potluck music listening party, from poetry and storytelling circles to knowledge at noon and finance Fridays, from book discussions and informal chat sessions to a community-wide reading experience, we've got something for everyone...and then some!

Mondays at 7
Every Monday at 7 AM
It's time to rise & shine! Join us every Monday morning, when we open our doors bright and early to provide a resource and meeting center for Job Seekers and Networkers. Stay for the second hour, which often includes seminars from top business and job seeking experts. On tap for this month's lectures: networking best practices and job searching in a new decade.

Meet Us On Main Street!
Every Wednesday at 11 AM
Our staff favorites program continues this month with some fabulously informal chats about our favorite items in the collection, whether they are brand new and hot off the presses or gems hidden among the stacks. Drop by for a few minutes, or stay the full hour - it's up to you! We'll be hanging out near the Staff Recommends book display on the 1st floor.

Wednesday Matinees
Every Wednesday at 2 PM
This month, two of our Wednesday matinees will feature selections as part of our One Book, One Community series, which centers around the Dust Bowl of the 1930s: The Grapes of Wrath, the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic, award-winning novel, and Bound for Glory, the tale of Woodie Guthrie's life, as portrayed by actor David Carradine.

Finance Fridays
Every Friday at 12 PM
If it's a Friday in March, it means it's a Finance Friday! Join the Librarians in the Main Reading Room on the 2nd floor each Friday in March for a drop-in technology class, featuring four timely topics: income taxes, obtaining free credit reports, consumer resources, and the ins and outs of Value Line.

Friday Film Series
Every Friday at 7:30 PM
When Friday rolls around, you're inevitably thinking, TGIF! And TGIF at Darien Library, because each Friday evening, we've got entertaining, thought-provoking, award-winning, and buzz-worthy films to take your mind off the work week and get you prepared for the weekend! This month's films boast Oscar nominees and Oscar winners....and Meg Ryan is back!

Meet Parenting Author Judith Warner
Thursday, March 4 at 7 PM
Our Spring Author Series continues with best-selling parenting author and New York Times op-ed contributor Judith Warner, who will visit Darien Library to discuss her newest book, We've Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication. She will address tough questions facing parents today, including "are we over diagnosing and over-medicating our children." 

Art on View, Featuring The City of Hope Exhibit 
Artist Reception - Friday, March 5 at 6:30 PM
Our current display features photographs of Darien High School students visiting Tanzania on behalf of The City of Hope, a humanitarian effort whose focus is to address the orphan crisis and the issues of chronic poverty on the continent of Africa. The exhibit will be on view in our Art Gallery from March 2 to April 19.

Book Group Savvy
Monday, March 8 at 12 PM
If you are looking to add some pizzazz to your existing book group, we can help! In this workshop, we will explore interesting book group web sites along with some tried-and-true techiques for improving your book selections, Learn how to make discussions more stimulating, and pick up some novel ideas for enhancing your entire book group experience!

Spring Book Discussion - Lit by Mary Karr
Tuesday, March 9 at 7 PM
Our theme is Dysfunction Junction: The Lifes of Others, and it doesn't get more dysfunctional than...Mary Karr and a memoir called Lit! Join us for a juicy discussion of the acclaimed book that is the long-awaited sequel to Karr's two previous memoirs, Liar's Club and Cherry.

An Evening of Storytelling for Adults, Featuring Stories About the 1930s
Wednesday, March 10 at 7 PM
Join us for a gathering of experienced and amateur storytellers who will share a family legend, personal remembrance, historical tale, or anecdotes about the decade known as "The Dirty Thirties." Try your hand at telling, or simply enjoy by listening. This is a One Book, One Community event.

Catherine Lindsey Memorial Playwrights/Actors Workshop
Thursday, March 11 at 7 PM
Lights, camera, action! The playwrights/actors workshop brings local actors and playwrights together and encourages a collabortive effort to create new plays and present a public staged reading of short scenes from selected full-length plays, one-act plays, musicals, and monologues.

Special Film Screening of Wall-E
Saturday, March 13 at 3 PM
Perfect for families! What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? The year is 2700 and Wall-E is a robot still spending every day doing what he was made for. Soon he is visited by a sleek robot named Eve whom he chases across the galaxy with a pet cockroach and a heroic team of misfit robots. This is a One Book, One Community event.

One Page Poetry Circle - Poetry & Movement
Wednesday, March 17 at 7 PM
Think Wind. Journeys. Lack of control. Restoration. And bring a single page of poetry by an established poetry that expresses the theme, plus your enthusiams, thoughts, questions, and curiosity abotu the poems that other bring. The discussion will be led by Madge McKeithen, faculty member of The Writing Program at The New School. This is a One Book, One Community event.

Children's Book Drive
March 17 through March 31
Darien Library is holding a book drive in conjuction with Darien Book Aid. We are accepting donations of new or nearly new children's books, which will then be distributed to the local community, Peace Corps volunteers, libraries, and schools all over the world. This donation drive is being held in conjunction with One Book, One Community.

Classics Discussion Series - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Film Screening: Monday, March 22 at 2 PM
Book Discussion: Thursday, March 25 at 3 PM
It's March with the Marches! Louisa May Alcott's beloved novel follows the fictional March sisters through years of self-discovery as their father fights in the war. First, join us Monday for a screening of the 1994 film adaptation. Then, let's meet on Thursday to discuss the book, the author, and the time period over afternoon tea in our cozy Classics room!

Potluck & Music Listening Party
Tuesday, March 23 at 7 PM
And you're invited! We'll be sharing old family recipes as we listen to some of the defining sounds of the 1930s. Bring a dish of your own, enjoy dishes made by others, and learn about the era of Tin Pan Alley, early jazz, and the golden age of the American Musical. This is a One Book, One Community event.

Meet Chef & Author John Barricelli
Thursday, March 25 at 7 PM
The owner of SoNo Baking Company & Cafe, John Barricelli, will visit Darien Library to talk about his gorgeous new cookbook, The Sono Baking Company Cookbook: The Best Sweet and Savory Recipes for Every Occasion. AND...he's bringing along treats from the cafe! It's a Spring Author Series event that you won't want to miss!

Wartime Kiss: Forgetting the Second World War
Guest Lecture by Dr. Alexander Nemerov, Yale University
Sunday, March 28 at 3 PM
WWII accelerated the worldwide recovery from the Great Depression of the 1930s, bringing about an extraordinary time period for American art. In a special lecture for the Darien community, Dr. Alexander Nemerov, chair of the History of Art Department at Yale University, will look to the films and photographs on the home front to explore the visual culture of the early 1940s to ponder what still resonates from those years. This event is co-sponsored by the Yale Club of Lower Fairfield County.

Knowledge @ Noon
Monday, March 29 at 12 PM
It's the perfect complement to enhance your book group readings and discussions! Meet with our Librarians in the Main Reading Room on the 2nd floor for an introductory tutorial to three of our most frequently used databases: Biography Index, Culture Grams, and History Resource Center.  

Spring Book Discussion - The Bolter by Frances Osbourne
Tuesday, March 30 at 7 PM
Dysfunction Junction: The Lives of Others continues with the second selection of our Spring Book Discussion Series. Osbourne, the great-grandaughter of "The Bolter," , and it doesn't get more dysfunctional than...Mary Karr and a memoir called Lit! Join us for a juicy discussion of the acclaimed book that is the long-awaited sequel to Karr's two previous memoirs, Liar's Club and Cherry.

Special Film Screening Event: "The Color of Fear"
Wednesday, March 31 at 7 PM
Join us in taking a Stand Against Racism, a movement of the YWCA to raise awareness that racism still exists. The Color of Fear, an insightful, groundbreaking film about the state of race relations in America as seen through the eyes of eight North American men of various descents. This event is co-sponsored by the YWCA Darien/Norwalk.

Flickr photo courtesy of xdjio.

The Spring Book Discussion Series, Dysfunction Junction: The Lives of Others, continues on Tuesday, March 30 at 7 PM with our second selection, The Bolter by Frances Osbourne. Library staff members will lead the discussion (the Library has copies of the books available for patrons to borrow, but prior reading of the books is not necessary to attend the discussions.)