Books

Join us for a book talk and reading with Archer Mayer on November 9th at 7 pm. Archer Mayor’s newest thriller will be available for purchasing and for Archer’s signature. Archer will read and discuss mystery # 26, THE COMPANY SHE KEPT. The Community Center is handicap accessible. Information: 802-254-9212 & 802-254-2415. Location: Dummerston Community Center, 150 West Street, West Dummerston, Vt. 05357

Entertainment Weekly magazine picked the brand-new Joe Gunther mystery, “The Company She Kept,” as one of their 10 Great Fall Thrillers. Read more .

In recognition of the Ronald Read bequest, please join us on Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 7 pm for a reception and presentation of “Your Library Looks to the Future,” as we present architectural plans that the staff, community members, and Trustees have been developing since May to make the Library space more welcoming, more functional, and responsive to the changing patterns of library use.

Vermont author and journalist Elayne Clift will read from her latest book, Children of the Chalet: New and Selected Stories, Grand Prize Winner for Fiction in the Greyden Press 2014 Book Competition, on Saturday, October 10th at Brooks Memorial Library at 2.30 p.m. in the library’s meeting room on the 2nd floor. Clift will also read excerpts from her novel Hester’s Daughters (based on The Scarlet Letter) and will invite the audience to join in a discussion about the challenges of fiction writing and getting published in a 21st century literary world.

Clift’s latest short story collection has two parts. The first, Children of the Chalet, from which the title is drawn, is a set of connected stories based on a year she spent in the 1960s as a residential counselor in a halfway house for troubled teens. The second part shares a number of short stories not published until now.“I had ruminated for years about the girls I worked with and what brought them to residential living and care,” Clift says. “Their stories, which I’ve fictionalized, were compelling and I often wondered what had become of them as adults. 

Good news! Thanks to the wonderful bequest by Ronald Read his year, the Board of Trustees are restoring Brooks Memorial Library hours open to what existed before the personnel budget reductions of 2010. Beginning Saturday, September 12, the library will be open 10 AM to 5 PM, and Thursday, September 17, the library’s hours will be 10 AM to 6 PM.

Read more here – http://files.ctctcdn.com/eb13a4a9001/5490aea8-ce7c-416f-ab0e-a2af1b2ceb92.pdf

Nonresident library cardholders, thanks for your support! We hope you’re finding more and more reasons to invest in a Brooks Memorial Library card, including lots of resources on our website, and the expanded Catamount Library Network collection of over 400,000 items.

On Sept. 1st, card fees changed to align with Brattleboro resident tax support: 6 months = $32, 1 year = $62, 2 years = $110. If you’re not sure, . You might be surprised!

The Friends of BML & Vermont Country store are hosting the Vermont Humanities Council’s Masters of the Short Story, a four-part reading-discussion series beginning Monday, October 5, at 7 PM. You will read great short story writers such as Beattie, Poe, Chekhov, and O’Connor. Discussions will be facilitated by long-time humanities scholar, Richard Wizansky. Ann Beattie’s Park City will be the first in the series.

The first session of the series is Monday, October 5, at 7 PM, with a discussion of Ann Beattie’s short stories,”Park City.” The other sessions scheduled are:
November 2, “Selected Works” by Flannery O’Connor
November 30, “Five Great Stories” by Anton Chekov
December 7, “Poetry and Tales” by Edgar Allan Poe

The 2015 Brattleboro Literary Festival will take place October 1-4, 2015. The Festival is a four-day celebration of those who read books, those who write books, and of the books themselves. Located in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont, the Festival includes readings, panel discussions, and special events, featuring emerging and established authors. All events are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Visit the for more info and a full schedule of events, venues and author listings. http://brattleboroliteraryfestival.org/

Did you know the library has three iPads available for in-house use? iPads are easy to use, mobile, and lightweight. They are perfect for browsing, reading, and much more. Visit the Brooks Memorial Library circulation desk to try one today!

Has anyone else noticed the glaring lack of information and/or publicity about this year’s Literary Festival? I’ve seen a couple of postings here but usually by this time I’ve received  not only a plea for money but a schedule of authors and events in the mail and via email. I haven’t seen any posters anywhere – not even at the library. I know a few months ago there was some confusion over the potential dates but since it’s right around the corner you’d think there would be some talk about it somewhere. I hope this doesn’t mean the Festival is beginning to fade out. It’s one of my favorite events in town and generally I have to try to juggle all the many wonderful authors that I want to go hear. I don’t even know who is participating this year.

Masters of the Short Story, a reading and discussion series will be held in the Brooks Memorial Library this fall on Monday evenings. The books and authors to be discussed, with dates, are:  Park City by Ann Beattie (October 5), Selected Works of Flannery O’Connor (November 2), Five Great Short Stories by Anton Chekhov (November 30) and Poetry and Tales y Edgar Allen Poe (December 7).  

The series discussion facilitator will be VHC scholar Dr. Richard Wizansky.  This is a Vermont Humanities Council (VHC) event with support from the Vermont Country Store.  Each Monday discussion group will be held at 7PM in the Library Meeting Room.

This fall, the Brooks Memorial Library will be hosting a number of book talks with Green Mountain Book Award authors. The Green Mountain Book Award (GMBA) is the Vermont Reader’s Choice Award for grades 9-12. Most teens in high school in Vermont are encouraged to read some of the books on the nominated list in their classes at school.

The first of these Skype talks will be held on September 28 @ 6:30 on the third floor meeting room in the library. This talk will be with author Andrew Smith about his book “Winger.”Andrew Smith is an award-winning author of several Young Adult novels, including the critically acclaimed “Grasshopper Jungle” and his Green Mountain Nominated Book, “Winger.” His most recent book, “Alex Crow,” is the ninth novel he has published. Andrew Smith lives in Southern California.

Please join Radha Buko today, Wednesday, September 9, 7:30 PM for a talk on her memoir. When Hitler invades Poland in 1939, newlyweds Józef and Marysia Buko are catapulted into a sudden and heart-wrenching seven year separation. Each faces life threatening situations demanding courage, faith, and resilience if the couple is ever to see each other again. The event is free and open to the public. 

Vermont author Tereska Buko and Brattleboro artist Lerna will be speaking about Ms. Buko’s newly published book, The General’s Barber and the Seamstress: A Polish Love Story (Red Barn Books of Vermont).

Author, educator and chef John Verlinden will speak in the Brooks Library Meeting Room on Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00 about his new book, To Cook is To Love:  Nuevo Cuban: Lighter, Healthier Latin Recipes.  Admission is free and the event is sponsored by the Friends of Brooks Memorial Library.

This work is a multigenerational cultural tapestry of Cuban history, life, food, wine and music.  Chef Verlinden will prepare and share “tasting samples” with the audience.

If you are ‘in the market’ for a primer that lays out in compelling prose the path humans have taken in our evolution, showing longstanding motives and habits, causes and effects of civilizations, and possible directions for the near and far future, I enthusiastically recommend “Sapiens”, by Yuval Noah Harari.

My post is titled facetiously, because here we have an inspiring and impressive handbook that breaks molds rather than follows formula. My title makes reference to the uncanny clarity and concision in which the author tackles immense and charged subjects.

Everyone’s Books is pleased to present four of the most exciting Science Fiction and Fantasy authors of the modern era at The Space at 118 Elliot St. at 6pm on Saturday, July 25th.

Local author Brian Staveley‘s  second book in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series,focuses on the three heirs to the Annurian Empire as they embark on different routes to the same goal. Adare, having discovered who killed their father, rallies the people, who believe she has been touched by a goddess; Valyn has allied with invading nomads; and Kaden, the rightful heir, has already infiltrated the capital. Read chapter one from The Emperor’s Blades here, and an excerpt from book two, The Providence of Fire, here.

Library technology: All Your Questions Answered! CANCELLED FOR JULY, RESUMING IN AUGUST (8/4 and 8/7). 

Join Reference Librarian Jeanne Walsh on the first Tuesday (4 PM to 6 PM) and first Friday (11 AM to 1PM) of the month for one-on-one help on the various aspects of library technology, such as downloading e-books and e-audio; accessing your library account to place holds, renew your items, suggest new titles for the collection, make lists of your favorite titles to share with your fellow library users. Get help with online tasks like filling out forms and emailing attachments.…and more. NO QUESTIONS ARE TOO SMALL OR TOO SILLY! Bring your devices if you have them: iPads, smartphones, laptops, etc.

Wednesday, June 10, at 7 PM, join writer, teacher, and journalist, Nan Levinson, for a reading and discussion of her latest book  War Is Not a Game: The New Antiwar Soldiers and the Movement They Built. Written with sensitivity and humor, War Is Not a Game gives readers an uncensored, grunt’s-eye view of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while conveying the equally dramatic struggles that soldiers face upon returning home. 

On July 23, 2004, five marines, two soldiers, and one airman became the most unlikely of antiwar activists. Young and gung-ho when they first signed up to defend their country, they were sent to fight a war that left them confused, enraged, and haunted. Once they returned home, they became determined to put their disillusionment to use. So that sultry summer evening, they mounted the stage of Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall and announced the launch of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Come watch the parade and shop for some great books! 

The Friends of the Library’s June Book Sale will be held on Thursday, June 4 from 1PM to 6PM, Friday, June 5 from 10AM to 6PM and Saturday, June 6 from 10AM to 2PM. A great collection of hardback, paperback and coffee table books plus audio books, music CDs and DVD movies. Lots of fiction on sale and non-fiction titles include gardening, travel, sports, science, music and art, biography, history, how-to, cooking and much more! 

Please join writers  for an evening of readings, Wednesday, June 3, at 7 PM, in the Library’s Meeting Room.

Peter Gould is a writer, director, teacher, adjunct professor at Brandeis University and World Learning, and founder of “Get Thee to the Funnery” summer Shakespeare programs for teens.

His most recent book is Write Naked. Published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, it is a story of two Vermont teenagers who fall in love as they encourage each other to be honest, artistically expressive, and dedicated to fighting global climate change.

Join Reference Librarian Jeanne Walsh for drop-in hours at the Reference Desk on the first Tuesday of every month, 4:00-6:00 and first Friday of every month, 11:00-1:00.

Get started with downloadable e-books and e-audio, and learn about searching and placing holds in the library catalog. Access your library account to place holds, renew your items, suggest new titles for the collection, and make reading lists for yourself or to share with other library users. Get help with online tasks like filling out forms and emailing attachments…and more.

NO QUESTIONS ARE TOO SMALL OR TOO SILLY! Bring your devices if you have them: iPads, smartphones, laptops, etc.