Gilford Public Library

Notes from the library
By Molly Harper, May 13, 2013

After a long snowy winter, the sound of the cheerful chirp of the American Robin is often the first herald of the long-awaited spring. Next comes the eerie coo of the Mourning Dove, the chatter of Warblers and Finches, and the return of Red-winged Blackbirds, Hummingbirds, and many more. But for me, spring has never fully arrived until I have caught sight of my favorite spring bird – the Eastern Bluebird. With a rich rusty chest to complement its characteristic baby-blue wings, the Bluebird is a much awaited symbol of the bright and colorful spring to come.

If you’re a bird-watcher like myself, or simply want to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring we are having, be sure to check out the Library’s 3^rd Annual Bird Walk with Mike Coskren on Saturday, May 18^th from 8:00 – 10:00 am. The Bird Walk will be at a new location this year, on the Carey Trail at the Meadows property. The walk will be leaving from the Triple Trouble barn right next to Beans & Greens promptly at 8:00 am.

"The trail starts out in a marsh area, followed by a gentle walk into a nice open field, then down to a stream and a swamp. We should be able to see some hawks and water birds, and perhaps a wood duck near the swamp,” said Mike, who walked the path recently. "It was a slow start to the bird-watching season this year, but it should pick up and will be great by the 18^th”.

Mike first became hooked on bird watching as a child after seeing the unusual orange plumage of the Baltimore Oriole for the first time. Fifty years, and countless bird sighting later, Mike’s passion for bird watching is stronger than ever. He is excited to lead the walk for his third year in a row and hopes to be able to show people a variety of different birds; "We can expect to see many migratory birds, including varieties of Wood Warblers, Oven Birds, Hermit Thrushes and more. Many of the birds are also in their breeding plumage; it’s the best time of year to see their pretty colors.” Some of the more colorful birds that may be seen on the walk include the Baltimore Oriole, the Scarlet Tanager, and varieties of Grosbeak.

Mike suggests covering up as much as possible for the walk as protection against ticks and black flies – hats and long pants are recommended, as well as sturdy walking shoes. Bug spray is a good idea, and of course – don’t forget your binoculars!

New to bird-watching, or a little rusty after the winter season? Prepare for the walk by checking out the NH Audubon’s Beginner Birder Guide online at http://www.nhaudubon.org/birding/birding-basics. An excellent resource for beginner and experienced birders, the guide lists important information for birders, including the ‘Birding Code of Ethics’, and hints about when and where to look to find some of your favorite rare birds. The guide also includes links to the New Hampshire Bird Records website, where you can share your sightings with others - especially the rare species that others may be searching for!

So whether you’re looking for the rarest of the rare, or just hoping for a glimpse of an old favorite, the Library’s 3^rd Annual Bird Walk on Saturday, May 18^th at 8:00 am promises to be a fun morning for all. I’ll be there looking for the Eastern Bluebird, and I hope to see you there too!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, May 13, 2013

When my husband and I first moved back to New Hampshire from Montana, we lived with my grandmother in the village. At the time, I was deep into writing my novel, and I came to the library as a way to get out into the community and take a break from my work. Betty Tidd taught me how to cover paperback books, and I agreed to show up once a week to do that. However, it wasn't long before I started getting messages from Betty.

"The paperbacks are really piling up,” she would say.

"Who is this woman?” I remember asking my husband. "I told her I

would come for one hour on Wednesdays, and she's calling me on a Friday afternoon?” I would ignore the messages, and continue with whatever else I was doing. But, to my astonishment, Betty would keep calling. And so, because I love libraries, and because I had signed up, I would walk down the street and cover those books on any old day.

Now, four years later, as my husband and I prepare for yet another adventure—this time a move to a small island off the coast of Maine—I have been looking around the library and thinking of how it has become something of a home to me. It started in that back room, where I covered books. Unexpectedly, that small act gave me community—because when you spend much of your life immersed in fiction, as I do, it can be hard to know what to talk about with people, but there, in that room, I first met others in this town whose lives are also spent in and deeply affected by what they read.

So when we decided to move, it seemed at first that it would be the library community that I would miss the most. But now, as I wander through the rooms, I realize that this place has truly sustained me in so many other ways. It was in the New Hampshire Room that I researched old stories to inspire my book, and in the Reading Room that I finally wrote the last section of it. In the Meeting Room I had fascinating discussions with people I likely never would have spoken with had it not been for that book group. And all of that is just extra; it's the library collection, after all, that has guided all of that—and my work—for the last four years.

There is, thankfully, a library on the island we're moving to, but it's roughly the size of this library's circulation desk. And so, in the coming years, my small family will be living on Isle au Haut, where I'll write my next book, take incredible advantage of the inter-library loan system, and think often and fondly of the Gilford Public Library.

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, April 29, 2013

"Old, traditional songs are as close as you can get to a community of another time,” said musician and music historian Jeff Warner, who will be at the Gilford Public Library on Tuesday, May 14, for Banjos, Bones, and Ballads. "As a friend said, hearing an old song is like having an ancestor whisper in your ear.”

The son of legendary folk music historians Anne and Frank Warner, Jeff Warner grew up immersed in the old, traditional songs of our country, and he now spends his time bringing these songs to life in the US, Canada, and the UK. Though he plays and loves the songs of Appalachia, he says he has developed a particular affinity for the sailor songs of Boston and Portsmouth, and the logging songs from the Northeast's logging camps.

"There aren't as many people preserving those old songs, their old style. I want people to hear them as they were sung,” he said.

Other than an introduction to music from his parents, Warner always had a strong singing voice, and from there he developed his musical skills—the guitar, the banjo, and his real passion, the concertina, which is similar to an accordion. "That was a real turning point,” he said. "I started playing the concertina, and a hero of mine who played it passed on to me his love of traditional singing, and that's when I truly got serious about the music.”

As for the ‘bones', "they really are bones.” Warner said that no one knows how they started as music, "but you can just imagine … if you're a kid in 1790, and you live on a farm, and you want to play music, bones is what you have.” Warner's bones are made of shards from a cow's leg, and they're about eight inches long. "You use two, you hold them in one hand and rattle them together, it looks fascinating and it sounds lovely,” he said.

Like the bones, it's also impossible to tell just how far back the roots of the traditional music stretch, though certainly some of the songs link back as far as 600, 700, and even 800 years ago. However, Warner typically plays the songs that were written in the late 1800s. This is because "to our modern ear, the music gets better then. After slaves were freed and the Irish came over, the music changed. The rhythm, the call and response, the dance melodies—all of it got integrated.” Prior to that, the music is a bit "wordy and esoteric” for a general audience. Besides, Warner simply plays—or ‘inhabits,' as one listener said—the music that speaks to him. "I certainly love it,” he said. "I hope other people will, too.”

Jeff Warner will be at the Gilford Public Library on Tuesday, May 14, from 6:30 to 7:30 for his performance of Banjos, Bones, and Ballads. All are welcome and invited to join!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, April 22, 2013

"There are people all over the place who want to dance,” said library patron Bonnie Deutch, who will lead a beginner's line dancing course this spring at the Gilford Public Library. "They'd dance if they had a place to do it.” She says that's part of what's so great about line dancing—you don't have to wait for a partner; you can just go out and join in.

"Sure,” she said, "people think it's all country,” but that just isn't true. "It's Irish, it's old time, it's waltzes. And,” she said, "it's great fun and great exercise.”

Deutch, who's been line dancing for "years and years,” has taught at places like the Mill-A-Round in Manchester and at Pembroke Academy. About the upcoming class that she'll teach, Deutch emphasizes that it is for true beginners. "The most important thing is people say, ‘I don't want to make a fool of myself.' And here they won't. The door is closed. Everyone's a beginner. Everyone's comfortable, everyone's here to have fun.”

As for technique, "Attitude, attitude, attitude” is what Deutch said. "The dances themselves are simple,” she said, "but with different attitudes they can take on whole new lives.”

Deutch's class is designed to teach people how to be "self-sufficient” dancers. "I want to train them to train themselves,” she said. The class will run for six sessions in May and June, and, in addition to the class, Deutch will also teach an after-school line dancing group for children on May 8^th.

So, if you're interested in dancing, don't be shy! And if there's something else you'd like to do, stop by and take a look at our calendar, which is really filling up for spring! Some highlights include the next Storytime session, Up, up, and Away; a special program, Banjos, Bones, and Ballads, brought to us by the New Hampshire Humanities Council; our annual Mother's Day Tea; and a spring bird walk. Happy reading!

Notes from the library.
April 8, 2013 by Abi Maxwell

For nearly half a century, libraries across the country have joined together every April to celebrate National Library Week. This year, the theme for celebration is, "Community @ Your Library,” a statement that couldn't be more true. Here in Gilford, the library offers free access to unlimited knowledge, but it's also a great place to meet friends; to join a club; and to come to a special event. Next week, in honor of National Library Week, we'll offer a number of special programs for all ages.

Children are often the focus of library programs, for it's well known that visiting libraries in childhood not only enriches a child's reading and learning skills, but also creates a lifelong library user. So, once again we'll host the town vehicles for the kids to explore. Throughout the week, the children will have the chance to explore a police car, a school bus, a marine patrol boat, and a snow groomer.

For adults, fire deputy Rick Andrews and EMT Scott Davis will lead an indoor workshop, Map & Compass, to help patrons learn to effectively use a map and compass while in the woods and/or on trails. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, April 16, at 6:30, and sign up is required.

In addition to these programs, we'll also hold an Edible Book Contest for all ages. Children's Library Tracey Petrozzi, who will host the event, described it like this: "You pick a book—your favorite or one that you just think would be fun. And then you just create a food item to represent the book.” For example, she said she once saw a child represent Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar by stringing together a chain of cupcakes, and Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree by a standing a stalk of broccoli in a bowl of Jell-O. To be involved, you just have to make your food/book creation and drop it off in the library's meeting room between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. After that, you can stay to view other entries or return at 4:00 to see the prizes awarded.

To learn more about our National Library Week programs, or our ongoing programs, stop by the library or visit our website. Happy reading!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, April 1, 2013

"I really can't separate the natural world from poetry,” said local poet Barbara Bald, who will be at the Gilford Public Library with fellow poet Charlotte Cox for Journey Outward, Journey Inward; Two Perspectives on Poetry on Thursday, April 11, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in celebration of National Poetry Month.

Held every April, National Poetry Month is an annual celebration organized by the Academy of American Poets that aims to widen our attention to poetry—"to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books,” the Academy says. Largely, their efforts focus on bringing poetry to schools in a creative, positive way, which surely matters.

Bald says, "I've been writing since I was a little girl, and I was fortunate to have super English teachers. These were teachers who spent their summers going to Longfellow's Tavern, to Walden, to all these literary places. And then they'd bring their experiences back with them to the classroom.”

Though Bald was a science teacher by trade, she never lost her love of poetry, "of words, metaphor, philosophy,” but it wasn't until she bought a camp in the north and began to spend entire days just watching the river that she returned to poetry in a very focused way. "I would watch the water striders, or the water itself, and these poems would just come popping up.”

She began to visit The Frost Place on a regular basis, to focus in and revise her poems, and to send them out to get published. It was around this time that she met Charlotte Cox, and the two became writer friends.

Like Bald, Cox said she too has been writing since she was a little girl. "I just always loved words,” she said. "But it wasn't until I retired that I finally decided to start doing the work I always wanted to do.” Now Cox writes all the time. She said, "A scene or phrase or brief scrap of memory will strike me deeply. I'll scribble it down … and I might not come back to it for weeks, but when I do return, I work on creating a more complete, formal poem.”

"Poetry is another way of communicating,” she said. "A deeper way. It uses words to look beneath the surface … to boil down into the essence of things.”

On Thursday, April 11, Barbara Bald and Charlotte Cox will explore two kinds of poems with Outward, Journey Inward—those that look outward, at the natural world, and those that look inward, at personal journeys. Also, after Bald and Cox read their poetry, they will open the floor for guests to share their own. This program is free and open to the public; all are invited and encouraged to join!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, February 18, 2013

Reading a picture book to a child really is one of the more satisfying activities in life, and as many of us know, often it's the pictures—and not the words—that the children enjoy the most. That's why, 75 years ago, the Caldecott Medal was created; given annually, the medal honors illustrators for their significant contributions to children's literature.

If you haven't yet read I Want My Hat Back, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, you ought to stop by the Children's Room and do just that. It's a lovely, understated little book featuring an impossibly deadpan bear who has lost his hat and who, eventually, eats the rabbit who stole it.

"Nobody has seen my hat,” the bear says as he lies down, hopelessly, midway through the book. "What if I never see it again? What if nobody ever finds it? My poor hat. I miss it so much.” Released in 2011, that book won a host of honors, so it was no surprise when its sequel, This is Not My Hat, was nominated for and subsequently won the 2013 Caldecott Medal. The illustrations in both books—and all the others Klassen has illustrated—have a simple yet somehow compelling feel to them; there is so much character in those little animals, and though the colors are often muted, their effect is just enchanting.

Picture books are, of course, a wonderful way to connect with a child, but for those who can't read yet—and even those who can't speak or understand language yet—picture books also offer this miraculous, solitary entrance into another world, and, at the same time, into their own imagination. And, at least some of those images will remain; I know that my mind is still filled with Susan Jeffers' The Snow Queen drawings.

So, if you're looking for something to brighten up your day, stop by the library to check out a Caldecott Medal winner in honor of the award's 75^th anniversary. Some of our children's librarians' old favorite Caldecott winners include Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey, and The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg. Happy reading!

Notes from the library.
By Abi Maxwell, February 25, 2013

In 1955, Theodore Geisel was asked to write a book that would help children learn to read. At the time, he was working as a cartoonist, but he had also written a couple children's books, so he took up the offer. To write the book, Geisel was given a list of 300 words that most first-graders know. Apparently, two words on the list struck him: "cat” and "hat.” Thus our most legendary children's author—Dr. Seuss, of course—was born, along with a book that used only 225 "new reader” words. Now, Read Across America Week is celebrated each year to honor Dr. Seuss's remarkable impact on child literacy. This year, the Gilford Public Library will celebrate with a birthday party on Dr. Seuss's birthday—Friday, March 1.

"My son and daughter learned to read with those books,” said library assistant Becky Vallar. "The rhythm and the rhyme lets the children hear how the words are supposed to sound,” she said, "and that helps them so much. And,” she added, "that makes the reading fun.”

The lively pictures also add to a child's pleasure with these books, and as the story goes, it was these pictures that led Dr. Seuss not only to his career, but also to his wife. According to American Public Media's The Writer's Almanac, "He studied literature and planned on becoming an English professor. But a woman in one of his classes noticed the drawings he doodled in the margin of his notebook … and she told him he should become a cartoonist. He took her advice and also decided to marry her.”

After The Cat in the Hat reached such wide success—selling upwards of 12,000 copies a month—Dr. Seuss's publisher reportedly made a bet with him: "$50 that he could not write a book using only 50 different words.” Seuss won that bet in 1960, with the publication of Green Eggs and Ham, which, according to The Writer's Almanac, "uses exactly 50 different words, and only one of those words has more than one syllable: the word ‘anywhere.'”

The Gilford Public Library's Read Across America Dr. Seuss celebration will take place all day on Friday, March 1, with stories, games, and a birthday cake. All are welcome to help celebrate!

The history of tea
By Abi Maxwell, March 11, 2013

"Tea should really be made with tea leaves,” said historian and University of New Hampshire lecturer Hetty Startup, who will be at the Gilford Public library on Friday, March 15, for Historic Tea Traditions, a talk that will explore tea drinking around the world. "Tea bags,” she said, "though I do use them, are really a copout.”

If you're a tea drinker, you likely know why—the flavors of good tea are so subtle, after all, and their variation according to type and location is as rich and extensive as that of wine. That's part of what makes tea one of the most fascinating drinks in the world, and its serious drinkers so devoted. But it's also the history.

"This country, of course, associates tea with independence,” Startup remarked. It was also a driving force of the opium wars, when England's need for tea was so strong that they even developed new, faster boats in order to get it. "It's a staple,” Startup remarked—and that is certainly why it was one of the most formative commodities in the world. In addition to its vast history, there are also numerous tea ceremonies dictating how and when tea is taken, and this is the aspect that Startup will focus on.

"Morocco has a tradition of having mint tea, Russians take tea black and brewed in a samovar. For tea ceremonies in Japan, it's not necessarily the tea that is significant but all the other aesthetic elements, like the vessels, the seating, all of that is deliberate, and intended to create a special sense of place.”

Startup notes that many of us have tea-drinking traditions, whether or not they are a part of a larger culture, and because of that she encourages participants to bring along their favorite cup and saucer or brew. "That's the most fun part,” she says of the talk. "It's great to hear how others drink their tea.”

As for Startup herself, tea has always been a part of her life, even when she was a small child, and it's always been a ritual as well as a drink. Eventually, it was her interest in the two main cultures—China and India—that produce tea that led her to study the drink.

Her favorite brew? "I take a really regular, strong, British black tea. I also like a lot of herbal teas—Echinacea, peppermint. I admit that I do drink coffee, maybe one cup in the morning, but mostly I am a tea drinker.”

Hetty Startup will be at the library for Historic Tea Traditions on Friday, March 15, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. All are welcome and encouraged to join. Don't forget to bring your tea!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, March 11, 2013

Spring is just around the corner, and it's finally time to venture back outside! When you do, stop in at the library, because we have lots of great new books including a new one from Jodi Piccoult and one from David Baldacci. Here are some others that we're excited about:

Benediction is a new novel by Kent Haruf, who writes about life in Holt, a fictional Colorado town; this time, with Benediction, he explores an aging man's struggle with cancer. His books, including Plainsong, Eventide, and Benediction, are perfect for readers who enjoy beautifully written and quietly compelling stories, like Amanda Coplin's The Orchardist.

Fans of Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge will be thrilled to know that her next book, The Burgess Boys, is almost here—it will be released on March 26. This novel, which is rumored to be just as remarkable as her last, explores what happens when family members return to their Maine hometown to confront the old family business that haunts them.

For readers who love a good thrill, we have two great new ones on the shelves now. The Dinner, by Herman Koch, is translated from Dutch and already an international bestseller. It's a dark, absorbing novel that takes place during the course of one dinner, wherein two couples discuss the horrific act committed by their 15-year-old sons. Equally dark and absorbing is Roger Hobbs's debut novel, Ghostman. This deftly written book follows the path of a casino robbery gone horribly awry.

If it's been a long time since you read a short story, you might give that a try, too. Right now there are two new story collections that are so good they're on the bestseller list, which is quite uncommon for short stories. They are Vampires in the Lemon Grove, by Karen Russell, and Tenth of December, by George Saunders. When you read these two books it will come as no surprise to you that Sauders's work has long been a favorite of Russell's—both writers explore strange, otherworldly situations, but somehow end up examining the human condition.

Also, remember that the library has lots of new movies, too. For an artful and unique movie, try Anna Karenina or Moonrise Kingdom. Pitch Perfect is a new comedy, and Life of Pi is an excellent one to watch after reading the bestselling book it was based on. Also coming to the library are Lincoln, Argo, and The Intouchables. When you stop by, don't forget that if what you're looking for is checked out you can always put your name on the waiting list. Happy reading!

Valentine notes from the library...
By Abi Maxwell, February 11, 2013

I think that readers frequently set aside love stories as those for women, and assume that the term romance applies only to Nora Roberts and the like. But it turns out that I really can't think of one novel I've read in the last couple years that wasn't a love story in one way or another. And I don't think that's because of my choice of books, either. From Anna Karenina to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the love story proves a very central part of the human story. So, since it's February, here are some new novels that place love at their center, but just might appeal to all sorts of readers.

Me Without You, by Jojo Moyes, is the story of Will, an adventurous man who is left paralyzed and depressed after an accident, and Louisa, the woman hired to care for him. Their relationship deepens, making this novel a real tear-jerker, yet as Liesl Schillinger of the NY Times Book Review points out, the tears are "redemptive, the opposite of gratuitous. Some situations, [Moyes] forces the reader to recognize, really are worth crying over.” Set in England, where it is already a bestseller, this novel is an unlikely love story that is impossible to put down.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce, is another unusual love story. This one is about Harold Fry, a retired man who is unsatisfied in his life and marriage. One morning he decides, somewhat randomly, to walk 600 miles to save an old friend. His walk gives him the space to contemplate his life—and to see the various ways he has failed, both as a husband and a father. The novel lets us question how to change a life once it's reached middle age, and ultimately examines love, and the responsibilities that go along with it.

Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan—who wrote Atonement, among others—is a literary twist on the Cold War spy novel, and as such it examines that old spy-novel quandary of falling in love despite the fact that you must trust no one in order to survive. The novel follows Serena, a compulsive reader chosen to infiltrate a literary circle because of its possible anti-government ties, and Tom Haley, the young writer she falls for.

Other great, out-of-the-ordinary love stories of the past few years include Vaclav and Lena, by Haley Tanner, The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain, and The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern. Also, there's the classics—Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility, Flaubert's Madam Bovary, and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. So stop by the library this February and check out a love story—and note as you search for your book that our catalog now includes our digital records, too! That means that you can search the Gilford Public Library catalog for an audio or e-book, and then just follow the link to download. Happy reading!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, February 4, 2013

Afternoons in the kitchen always seem to be especially nice in winter, when the oven can keep you warm, and learning new recipes can help pass the short, dark days. Right now the Gilford Library has some excellent new cookbooks; see below for some of our favorites.

Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery is perhaps the best winter cookbook we have on the shelf, because what could be a better than baking away the cold weather? There's Chocolate Cherry Scones, Crepe Cake, and loaves upon loaves of bread. Librarian Betty Tidd says, "I have been making blueberry muffins for years—and I mean years. And none of them have ever come close to the blueberry muffins in this book!” And, this book is just so stunningly beautiful that it's worth checking out even if you never make a single recipe in it.

Ina Garten's new Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust adds to her collection of simple dishes that make an everyday home cook look like a pro. Maybe it's her own story that has allowed her to fill this niche so well: with no previous experience in the food business, Ina Garten bought a specialty food store on Long Island, and from there her career in the kitchen soared. Today she hosts her own TV show on Food Network, and has eight cookbooks in counting. This new one offers complete meals, along with instructions for getting everything on the table—and hot—at once.

Deb Perelman's blog, smittenkitchen.com, features lovely photos of the kind of creative, simple food I can never seem to think of—clementine cake, gnocchi in tomato broth, winter fruit salad. You can browse by recipe, season, ingredient, or style, and now you can browse an actual book, too: Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Like her blog, this book is designed for the everyday cook, which she herself is; Perelman has never worked in a restaurant, and she cooks in her tiny Manhattan apartment kitchen. The book is easy to use, and it makes standard ingredients suddenly seem much more interesting.

Finally, if the Fifty Shades of Grey series wasn't enough for you, there's now a cookbook: Fifty Shades of Chicken. Written by F.L. Fowler (ha, ha), the book is a hilarious, tasteless parody of that erotica fiction series. Photos not only of chickens but also their scantily clad chef abound. The recipes include Dripping Thighs, Chicken with a Lardon, and Learning-to-Truss-You Chicken, and the cooking instructions are no less graphic than their titles.

Other new cookbooks include Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, True Food by Andrew Weil, and Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid. So if you're looking to try something new, stop by the library and check out our new cookbooks. Happy reading!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, January 28, 2013

This year the Gilford Elementary School is celebrating reading and community with One School, One Book, in which all elementary grades, and many parents, will read The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, by Betty G. Birney. Though it's a chapter book for children, the story reminds all of us that we need not look far for wonders; that here in our own home wonder abounds. So, in celebration of that book, the Gilford Public Library will host two events in February, one for adults and one for children.

Since the Belknap Range is certainly one of the seven wonders of Gilford, the adult One School, One Book program at the library will celebrate those mountains with Hiking the Belknap Range in Winter.

"It's a wonderful time to hike,” says Peggy Graham, a member of the BRATTS (Belknap Mountain Trail Tenders). "There aren't as many people, the air is crisp and the sky is blue, and thanks to the snow the trail is usually smoother in winter.” Peggy, her husband, Hal, and other members of the BRATTS will talk about winter hiking safety, equipment, and trail recommendations. Also, they'll hand out the updated version of the Belknap Range trail map, a project that was nearly two years in the making.

"The new map is more comprehensive, and has more detail,” said Weldon Bosworth, who created the updated version. "This one is more user-friendly,” he said. Hopefully the map, along with the Hiking in the Belknap Range program, will inspire more people to get out and hike—and remember that this place really is full of wonder—despite the cold.

For the children's One School, One Book library program, we'll make clothespin dolls, which is something that Aunt Pretty in The Seven Wonders of Sassafrass County loved to do. Also, children will have a chance to hang up their own favorite parts of Gilford on the Wall of Wonder, either with a drawing, a photograph, words, or a craft.

The Seven Wonders activities at the Gilford Public Library will both take place in February: the children's program will be held on Wednesday, February 6, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and the adult program will be held on Thursday, February 7, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. All are welcome and encouraged to join.

Amelia is Fifty!
By Abi Maxwell, January 21, 2013

Amelia Bedelia began her job as a maid at the Rogers' household in 1963, and on her first day she was asked to "change the towels,” "put the lights out,” "dust the furniture,” and "draw the drapes.” The Rogers left for the day, and Amelia Bedelia set out to do her work: she found the scissors and cut up the towels so they looked "changed”; she hung the light bulbs on the clothesline; she spread dusting powder on the furniture; and she drew a picture of the drapes. But she wasn't fired—thanks to her endearing personality and her incredible skill in the kitchen, this year marks Amelia Bedelia's fiftieth in the Rogers' home. Here at the Gilford Library, we'll celebrate with a birthday party for this sweet, literal maid on Tuesday, January 29.

Whether or not you have any children, sitting down to read an Amelia Bedelia book is time well spent—you'd be hard-pressed to not laugh as she dresses a chicken in clothing and scatters roses around the living room floor. Written for early readers, these books reflect the literal interpretations common to children, but they also remind us that children's books can be great fun for adults, too.

Peggy Parish, the author of the Amelia Bedelia series, came from South Carolina and began her professional career as an elementary school teacher. In part, it was this experience that inspired the series, though her nephew, who began writing the books after Parish's death, told a telling story about life at Parish's grandparents' home (like the characters in the books, they too were named Mr. and Mrs. Rogers):

"Mrs. Rogers had both a cook and a maid. There was also a young girl whose main job was to look after the children, because she was hopeless as a housekeeper … [One day] the real maid got sick and this young girl had to fill in for her … Mrs. Rogers told her to "sweep around the room.” She did just what she was told: She swept the edges of the room clean, but left the center of the room untouched.”

Apparently, it wasn't the only mistake of language that this woman made, and the visiting grandchildren—Peggy Parish one of them—had a great time laughing with the maid about it.

We'll do the same at Amelia Bedelia's birthday party. That day, we'll read her books, eat a cake in her honor, and maybe even draw the drapes or scatter some flowers around the library. The birthday party will be held on Tuesday, January 29^th, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, January 14, 2013

"We're going to get out the silver, the tea, and the crumpets!” said librarian Betty Tidd, who will host A Visit with the Crawleys, the library get-together to watch the season three premier episode of Downton Abbey. "You don't have to come in costume,” she said, "but you can!”

For those of you who haven't gotten wrapped up in the Downton Abbey craze, it's a British period drama that has millions riveted. The show explores the lives of aristocrats and their servants at the Crawley estate, a castle-like home in fictional Yorkshire County. The first season of the series leads right up to the cusp of WWI; the second takes place during the war, when the estate is used as a hospital; and the third season looks into the social changes that occurred once WWI ended.

"It's just so fun to get sucked into another world like that,” said children's librarian Tracey Petrozzi, who came up with the idea of hosting the party. Tracey noted that though she herself is a huge fan, she just isn't sure why the show has garnered a cult-like following. It could be, she said, because of the time period. After all, it's one of immense social change, when Victorian-era values began to be replaced with those of the modern age.

"That's apparent on the show,” Tracey said. "Particularly in this current season. People are marrying outside of their class, they're forced to question their beliefs. That's fascinating,” she said.

A few years ago, anxious for the next season of Downton Abbey to be released, Tracey began reading books that explored early 20^th century, aristocratic English life, and she found that she really enjoyed the genre. So, if you're also a fan of the show, you might enjoy some of Tracey's suggestions:

The American Heiress, by Daisy Goodwin. Set during the turn of the 20^th century, this novel, like Downton, explores the marriage between an American and English aristocrat.

A Countess Below the Stairs, by Eva Ibbotson. This young adult novel—that's also a great read for adults—takes place just after the Russian Revolution, when a countess fleas her home for England and takes a job as a servant.

The House at Riverton, by Kate Morton. Morton's debut, this novel is set between WWI and WWII, and centers around a mysterious murder at an aristocratic English estate.

Below Stairs, by Margaret Powell. Subtitled "The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir that Inspired Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey,” this is the true story of the writer's time as a housemaid in the early 20^th century.

So, if you're a Downton Abbey fan, you can get ready for the library's A Visit with the Crawleys by stopping by the library and picking up a book. Also, you can check out seasons one and two of Downton Abbey, and if you've already seen that, you might enjoy Upstairs, Downstairs or Call the Midwife. The library's Downton Abbey screening will be held on Tuesday, January 29, from 6:30 to 8:00. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Notes from the library...
By Abi Maxwell, December 31, 2012

After years of pursuing a career as a painter, Julie Otsuka quit. In the time that followed, "I had no idea what to do with myself, except to read,” she said. "That was really my only consolation.” She was having what she called a "creative breakdown,” and it was during this period—when she was thirty years old—that she signed up for a writing workshop, "almost on a lark.” Since that time, she's written two bestselling novels, been nominated for the National Book Award, and won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Asian American Literary Award, just to name a few. This month, Gilford Library's book discussion group will discuss Otsuka's second book, The Buddha in the Attic.

When the Emperor Was Divine was Otsuka's debut. It's the story of the internment of a Japanese-American family during WWII. Shifting between the perspectives of an unnamed mother, father, brother, and sister, the book's spare, careful prose earned Otsuka a reputation as one of the strongest voices in today's historical fiction.

"It's almost an accidental book,” Otsuka said of that first novel. She never set out to write about the war and internment, but the topics "kept resurfacing,” as did the characters. Though Otsuka's own mother and grandmother were interned during WWII, Otsuka researched the subject extensively, since her family spoke "very little” about it. Eventually, her research and writing began to transform itself into her first novel.

The Buddha in the Attic is the follow-up to that first book, though it can certainly be read on its own. This book tells the story of ‘picture brides'—young women brought from Japan to America to marry American men.

"On the boat we were mostly virgins,” the story begins. "We had long black hair and flat wide feet and we were not very tall.” It's that ‘we' voice—which continues for the length of the book—that inspired librarian Betty Tidd to choose it for discussion.

"I just loved that narration,” Tidd said. "That voice gave the feeling of what it was like for a great many of these mail order brides coming over. It just made the emotions so broad,” she said. "And when I talked to a friend who had the opposite reaction to the voice, I knew it would make a great discussion!”

The library will hold two discussions of Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic on Thursday, January 10, from 12:30 to 1:30 and 6:30 to 7:30. Copies are available at the circulation desk, and all are welcome and encouraged to join. Happy reading!

Notes on E-Readers
By Abi Maxwell, December 17, 2012

In the final years of my grandmother-in-law's life, after years of being a voracious reader, her eyesight failed. Thankfully, she could still read large print books, but suddenly her choices were incredibly narrowed. Had a Kindle—which would enable her to enlarge the text of any book—been in existence, her life would have been greatly enriched. Except for the fact that, after a lifetime of library usage, she would have had to buy a number of books that she wanted to read. That's because libraries and publishers still have not figured out a way to negotiate lending, and the issue has gotten so complicated that Macmillan and Simon & Schuster have decided to not sell their e-book titles to libraries; Penguin, in a test run, only sells e-books to libraries in the NY Public Library System, and only six months after publication; and Hachette only sells older titles, at higher prices. That leaves Random House and HarperCollins, which are the only two of the ‘Big Six' that sell all their books, though they, too, have restrictions on their sales. That means that for library users, access to e-books is greatly restricted.

When I first encountered this issue, I thought, What's the big deal? Why do you need to read on an e-reader? Why not just check out a book? But then I remembered my husband's grandmother, and I remembered that it is never our place to judge how someone else wants to read a book. Our role is to encourage reading, and to try to increase access to it.

From the publisher's perspective, when a book is sold to the library, it will eventually get worn out and have to be replaced. However, when an e-book is sold, it will ostensibly last forever. Random House takes care of this by selling on a sliding fee scale—the prices on the less popular books are lower, and the prices on bestsellers are high. For HarperCollins, e-books purchased by libraries can only be checked out 26 times, after which the book must be repurchased.

Though they're not necessarily in support of the terms, libraries generally seem to be thankful that at least two of the publishers are allowing open access to all e-books. However, the American Library Association is understandably upset that access is being denied by the other publishers. "Let's be clear on what this means,” they wrote in an open letter to the publishers. "If our libraries' digital bookshelves mirrored the New York Times fiction best-seller list, we would be missing half of our collection any given week due to these publishers' policies.”

Long known as the "people's university,” libraries exist as the one place where anyone—absolutely anyone—can have access to a free education. And as the ALA pointed out, libraries have a particular concern for "individuals and families who are homebound or low-income.” Thus, "To deny these library users access to e-books that are available to others—and which libraries are eager to purchase on their behalf—is discriminatory.”

Here at the Gilford Library, director Katherine Dormody points out that though she herself prefers old-fashioned books, she thinks it's a "shame that half of the ‘Big Six' do not currently allow libraries to lend their newest, most in-demand titles.” This, after all, is where 80% of library usage comes from. "How are we to purchase materials patrons want? The simple answer is that we can't.” She also points out that though paper copies of bestsellers need to be replaced occasionally, libraries also buy hundreds of books that only ever see a handful of checkouts. Libraries are places of book discovery and as more and more bookstores close, this role has become very important. Publishers have not yet recognized this as they continue to refuse to sell some of their products to libraries.

As the holidays approach, and e-reader sales are higher than ever, more and more people will be coming to the library circulation desk, looking for help finding and loading books. If you are one of those, our Check-out-an-Expert is available on Wednesday mornings beginning January 9.

"Demand for e-books is definitely increasing. I am just hoping the publishers don't continue to lock out access to libraries,” Dormody said.

Holiday Reads
By Molly Harper, December 17, 2012

The snow is slowly drifting down, and with Christmas just around the corner, its finally beginning to look a lot like winter. For me, this time of year has always held a particular sense of comfort – what else can beat curling up next to a glowing fire with a mug of steaming hot cocoa and a good book? With the Christmas tree sparkling in the background, some cozy down time is just what you need to get ready for the holidays. Take some time for yourself this holiday season and tuck into a festive read. Here are some of our favorites:

1.) Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber:

In this joyous and whimsical holiday novel, Debbie Macomber rings in the season with the return of Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy, delivering laughs, love, and a charming dose of angelic intervention.

2.) Christmas at Eagle Pond by Donald Hall:

It's the Christmas season of 1940, and twelve-year-old Donnie takes the train to visit his grandparents' place in rural New Hampshire. In the barn, Gramp milks the cows and entertains his grandson by speaking rhymed pieces, while Donnie's eyes are drawn to an empty stall that houses a graceful, cobwebby sleigh. Now Model A's speed over the wintry roads, which must be plowed, and the beautiful sleigh has become obsolete. As the festivities wind down, the air becomes heavy with fine snowflakes—the kind that fall at the start of a big storm—and everyone wonders, how will Donnie get back to his parents on time?

Donald Hall draws on his own childhood memories and gives himself the thing he most wanted but didn't get as a boy: a Christmas at Eagle Pond.

3.) A Christmas Garland by Anne Perry

The trial of John Tallis equals the white-knuckle best of Anne Perry's breathtaking courtroom dramas. And thanks to a simple Christmas garland and some brilliant detective work, Narraway perseveres against appalling odds, learning how to find hope within himself—and turn the darkest hour into one full of joy and light.

4.) I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

Colonel de Luce, in desperate need of funds, rents his beloved estate of Buckshaw to a film company. They will be shooting a movie over the Christmas holidays, filming scenes in the decaying manse with a reclusive star. She is widely despised, so it is to no one's surprise when she turns up murdered, strangled by a length of film from her own movies! With a blizzard raging outside and Buckshaw locked in, the house is full of suspects. But Flavia de Luce is more than ready to put aside her investigations into the true identity of Father Christmas to solve this yuletide country-house murder.

5.) The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin

In the ancient town of Ephesus, Mary lives alone, years after her son's crucifixion. She has no interest in collaborating with the authors of the Gospel — her keepers, who provide her with food and shelter and visit her regularly. She does not agree that her son is the Son of God; nor that his death was "worth it;" nor that the "group of misfits he gathered around him, men who could not look a woman in the eye," were holy disciples. This woman who we know from centuries of paintings and scripture as the docile, loving, silent, long-suffering, obedient, worshipful mother of Christ becomes a tragic heroine with the relentless eloquence of Electra or Medea or Antigone. Tóibín's tour de force of imagination and language is a portrait so vivid and convincing that our image of Mary will be forever transformed.

Check out these great reads as well, and enjoy some time for yourself this holiday season!

Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhyes Bowen.

The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin.

Merry Christmas Alex Cross by James Patterson.

What Happens at Christmas by Victoria Alexander.

Twas the Night after Christmas by Sabrina Jeffries

Notes from the library...
By Abi Maxwell, December 10, 2012

As the new year approaches, we at the library have decided to look back over our lists and choose the stand-out books that we've read in 2012. Here they are:

Katherine: The Angel Makers, by Jessica Gregson. "It's based on a true story and is beautifully written,” Katherine said. Set in Hungary just after WWI, this novel explores the life of a woman who is perceived as a witch in a village where one man after another is poisoned. "I tend to like books with strong women protagonists and this book was no exception,” Katherine said.

Betty: The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin. "This book has left a strong impression,” she said. "The author made me believe the people were real and that the events were actually transpiring.” Set in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the 20^th century, this lyrical novel explores the life of an orchardist as he struggles to offer a life to two teenage runaways.

Tracey: Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis, Renato Poliafito and Tina Rupp. A cookbook based around the chefs' ten favorite ingredients—from peanut butter to pumpkin—this one "didn't have one recipe that I didn't want to try!”

Lura: The Talk-Funny Girl, by Roland Merullo. "I was completely engrossed!” Lura said of this novel, which is narrated by a young girl who lives in an abusive home in rural New Hampshire. "The minute I met that little girl I was hooked. I just couldn't get over how strong and resilient she was.”

Molly: The Last Night in Twisted River, by John Irving. "This book was just so different,” said Molly. A sprawling, strange, page-turner full of unexpected twists, this novel explores the life of a young boy who grows up in a logging camp in Coos County, New Hampshire. "It was a long, incredible book that drew me in. It's not often that I get that absorbed,” Molly said. "I couldn't put it down.”

Corey: Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, by David Randall. Exploring exactly what the title suggests, Corey said, "If you are interested in sleep and why we have to do it this is the book for you.”

Becky: I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had, by Tony Danza. This is an account of Danza's year spent teaching 10^th grade. "It shows all aspects of teaching,” Becky said. "It shows how hard it is. Basically, if you're a teacher, this book validates you as a person.”

Joanne: Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games, by Lopez Lomong. This is a memoir of Lomong's journey from a child in the Sudanese Civil War to an Olympic athlete. "I like stories of people who make it through against all odds,” said Joanne. "This one is really inspiring.”

Jolene: The End of Your Life Book Club, by Will Schwalbe. When Schwalbe's mother is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the two of them start a book club in order to spend quality time together. A tribute to both his mother and books themselves, Jolene simply said of this book that, "It is just so good!”

And finally, my pick for this year is Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward. The story of a teenage girl growing up in Mississippi as Hurricane Katrina approaches, this is a fierce and beautiful novel that exposes the realities of rural poverty.

So stop by the library and pick up a book! If you need more suggestions, be sure to take a look in our Staff Picks notebook, which you'll find at the circulation desk.

Notes from the library...
By Abi Maxwell, November 29, 2012

"Photography is personal,” said Gilford resident Connie Moses. "The pictures give you a record of your life.” Moses has two pictures featured in the library's 2013 Scenes from Gilford fundraising calendar, which is on sale for $15 and makes the perfect holiday gift for those who love our town and wish to support our library.

With a stunning cover photo of the fall foliage at dusk, the calendar then moves through the seasons, with a different outdoor Gilford scene to represent each month. "I couldn't choose which photos to submit,” Moses said. "I had so many of Gilford.” In order to decide, Moses put together an album of twelve photos and asked her friends to vote. She then submitted four, and had two chosen—one of the Gilford Community Church, and one of Smith Cove.

John Rogers is another community member whose photos were chosen for the calendar. A native of Gilford, Rogers remembers when the town was filled with dairy farms and dirt roads, and he has some historic photos that document those days gone by. For this calendar, Rogers' pictures include one of a tree's branches laced with ice, and another of a rainbow stretched over Belknap Mountain. "I take a lot of pictures of weather events,” Rogers said. "I keep an eye on the weather. A few years ago, when there were floods, I went out and took pictures of the water rushing over the bridge.” Rogers has been taking pictures for years, and he used to use a 35mm but has since switched to a digital camera. "I don't have a fancy camera,” he said. "Just a regular digital.” Still, his photos prove that he has an eye for spectacular landscapes.

Emery Swanson—who also has two photos in the calendar—said that photography is what made him "finally slow down in life.” He started taking pictures when he was already "well into adulthood,” and he now leads the Gilford Clickers photography club, which meets once a month and always welcomes new members. "To me,” Emery said, "photography is important because a picture can put a smile on someone's face.” He, like nearly all the photographers in the calendar, is self-taught, and thought that submitting photos to the calendar contest would be a fun thing to do, in addition to a great way to practice his skills.

This holiday season, as you search for gifts for loved ones or a calendar for yourself, take a look at Scenes from Gilford. It's a great way to enjoy your town, support your library, and honor the community members who participated in the project. The calendar can be purchased here at the library and at the Town Clerk Tax Collector's Office in Town Hall, and costs just $15. Also, if you're interested in photography, come check out a Gilford Clickers meeting—the next one is set for Tuesday, December 4, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Happy holidays!

Notes from the library...
By Abi Maxwell, December 3, 2012

"Rowling invented one of the most popular heroes of the late 20th century and, in the process, single-handedly rescued a generation that was in danger of turning away from literature,” wrote New York Times reviewer Amanda Foreman in her review of Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy. That Rowling accomplished such a feat may sound like an overstatement, but it seems to be true: after years of watching young readership decline, in 2009 the NEA reported that beginning in 2002—just four years after the release of the first in the Harry Potter series—more young people were reading than ever before. And since her series, young adult novels have taken on a cult-like popularity—think The Hunger Games or Twilight. So what kind of impact will a writer whose fifth book (Prisoner of Azkaban) sold five million copies in the first 24 hours it was available have on adult literature?

"I don't know if I even want to read her new book,” said Library Assistant and voracious reader Molly Harper. "I loved Harry Potter so much. I grew up with it. I might just want to leave my experience with JK Rowling at Harry Potter.” Library Assistant Jolene Wernig is also a Harry Potter fan, and because of that she said she "really tried” to love The Casual Vacancy, but did not. And the readers at this library are not alone; unfortunately, the reviews of Rowling's new book have not been glowing. It's hard to know, though, how much of this is dependent upon expectation, and how much has to do with the book itself.

In an article in the New Yorker, Rowling mentioned that this book, like all her others, is about morality and mortality, the "two things” that she "obsess[es]” about. She's 47 years old, and she said that she had stored up a lot of "real-world material” that she really wanted to write. "The thing about fantasy,” she said, "there are certain things you just don't do in fantasy. You don't have sex near unicorns. It's an ironclad rule. It's tacky.” So Rowling wrote an adult book, knowing full well that it—and she—would undergo incredible scrutiny. For a writer who has never been known for being comfortable with her fame, that seems to show incredible courage, and commitment to the craft. After all, she could have just sat back and enjoyed her success, knowing that her contribution to literature—and the world—was certainly adequate.

Ask anyone who has read the Harry Potter series what is so great about it, and nearly every answer will have something to do with the ability those books have to lift you right up out of your own world and drop you down in another, grander one. I read part four—all seven-hundred and some-odd pages—one Thanksgiving day, and thanks to the world of that book, did not stop to consider and be sad about the fact that I was home alone on a holiday. Rowling's new book certainly couldn't do that, but what other book could? Sure, books carry me away daily, but the number of books that have carried me away so effortlessly, so seamlessly, and so completely? That is a short list, and I don't think it's a standard that every book should be held up against. I'd like to think of that as I read The Casual Vacancy, and to try, if possible, to judge the book for what it is, and not for what has come before it.

Thanksgiving
By Abi Maxwell, November 12, 2012

"When I was very young and decided I wanted to try to write as well as I could, I made a great list of all the things I would never have,” said poet Mary Oliver, who has published more than thirty books of poetry and prose. That list included "a house, a good car,” and "fancy clothes.” That was because writers don't usually make money, and because if she was going to be serious about her writing, then she knew that she could not be serious about any other job. Since that time, however, Oliver has won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Oliver's latest poetry collection, A Thousand Mornings, was just released this October. It begins:

I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.

That observation, of her small life surrounded by such massive beauty, is the mark of Oliver's work. The place she is writing from is the undeveloped tip of Cape Cod that is truly "what the Pilgrims beheld in 1620.” This spot is the center of nearly all her poetry, which gives praise, over and over again, to the wonder of the natural world. This makes Oliver the perfect writer to look to this Thanksgiving, as you slow down and give thanks.

Born in 1935 in Maple Heights, Ohio, Oliver began writing poetry at age 14, and said she turned to poetry because "with words, I could build a world I could live in.” Nearly all of her professional writing life has been spent on Cape Cod, where she wakes each morning at five o'clock and wanders through Province Lands, the 3,500 acre national preserve where she said she once found herself without a pen, and after that went around and hid pencils in various trees.

Oliver's favorite words include "love, mirth, praise, constancy,” and that certainly is evident in her work, which attempts, she said, to "contain both the spiritual life and the life in this world.” She said, "I like to think of myself as a praise poet. [That means] that I acknowledge my feeling and gratitude for life by praising the world and whoever made all these things.”

In the poem The Ponds, she writes:

Still, what I want in my life

is to be willing

to be dazzled --

to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even

to float a little

above this difficult world.

I want to believe I am looking

into the white fire of a great mystery.

I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing --

that the light is everything -- that it is more than the sum

of each flawed blossom rising and fading. And I do.

This Thanksgiving, as you prepare to sit down with family and friends, stop by the library and check out a book by Mary Oliver—you might just find a poem you'd like to share at the Thanksgiving table.

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, October 22, 2012

For a long time, the word classic scared me away from a book—I believed that if a book was a classic, and particularly if it was a long, old classic, then it was too complicated for me to understand. Thankfully, at one point I had to read Madam Bovary for school, and I found out that I had been terribly wrong in my assumption. I devoured that book—and I learned that it, like most classics, was just a good, full, enduring story about love, betrayal, and secrets. Since that time I have read at least one classic a year, usually in the winter. If you'd like to do the same, this year would be a great year to start, for there are lots of movies based on classics coming out, and it is always fun to read a book and then go see the movie.

After I read Madam Bovary I read that without it, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina would never have been written. So that winter, I spent the month of January reading that book. It was the first Russian classic I had ever read, and I was enchanted by it. Like Madam Bovary, it was not a complicated book—as I had thought it would be—but just a phenomenal story of love and betrayal. The movie based on the book will be released on November 16, and it is well worth reading the book first. Like all Russian novels, it's important to read a good translation, and at the Gilford Library you can check out what is known as the best one available, by Pevear and Volokhonsky.

Though many of us have likely seen the play Les Miserables, reading the book itself is not so common these days. However, Victor Hugo's novel, published in 1862, is considered one of the best novels of all time. Following the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean, the story explores his efforts to escape his past and achieve redemption. The 2012 movie is a musical rendition that will be released in December, which might give you just enough time to get the book read!

If you were one of the many required to read Wuthering Heights in high school, I would encourage you to read it again, because too often we just don't like the books that we have to read in school, but this one really is great. The book was written by Emily Bronte and published in 1847, under the pseudonym Currier Bell, and with its publication she became one of the first female writers in history, after Jane Austen, George Elliot, and her own sister Charlotte Bronte. The story is about a doomed love affair, and the movie based on the book will be released this month.

If you don't want to wait for a movie-tie in to be released, there are lots already available at the library. Some great ones include the movie based on Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, which was released just last year, and the numerous BBC renditions of the works of Jane Austen as well as Charles Dickens. So if you're looking for a way to curl up and enjoy the fall, stop by the library and see what we have!

Notes from the library
By Abi Maxwell, October 29, 2012

"I'm interested in the romance of the Lakes Region and the White Mountains,” said historian, writer, and professor Bruce Heald, who has written numerous history books and articles about the area, and who has worked as Senior Purser aboard the M.S. Mount Washington for 46 years. Heald will be at the Gilford Public Library on Thursday, November 8, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to talk about his most recent book, New Hampshire and the Civil War: Voices from the Granite State.

Heald, who teaches military history at Plymouth State University, wrote New Hampshire and the Civil War after he gained access to hundreds of "original, personal” letters written by soldiers during the Civil War. The letters came from many places, but most from New Hampshire. They detail camp life, battles, imprisonment, and hospital stays, offering first-hand knowledge of what the war was like for New Hampshire men. In addition to these letters, Heald also had the privilege of reading one complete diary that belonged to a solider from Sanbornton, which details day-to-day life during the War. The letters and portions of the diary are in the book, along with Heald's introductions to each volunteer regiment the letters originated from.

"I have fun doing this,” Heald said of his research. "And this topic”—the voices of NH men in the Civil War—"had never been done before.” That's one criterion for Heald, who has written 37 books so far. "If I get an idea,” said Heald, "I ask myself, ‘Is this interesting to other people?'” From there he considers whether or not it has been done before, and if the answer is no, he drafts a proposal for his publisher.

Heald's career as a writer began in 1968, when he realized while working about the Mount that the boat had no travelogue. "I wrote one,” he said, "and then I became interested in the lake, the old boats, the mail boat, and the railroads.” His books include A History of the Boston and Maine Railroad, Railways and Waterways Through the White Mountains, A History of Dog Sledding in New England, Steamboats in Motion, and many more.

During his visit to the Gilford Public Library, Heald will show copies of the original letters, talk about the impact New Hampshire had upon the Civil War, and answer questions. His visit will take place on Thursday, November 8, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. If you're interested in our past, this is an excellent opportunity to meet an expert on New Hampshire history. The program is co-sponsored with the Thompson- Ames Historical Society and is free and open to the public; all are welcome and encouraged to join!

Banned Book Week
By Molly Harper, October 1, 2012

What do the Dictionary, The Grapes of Wrath, Little Women, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?, and The Diary of Anne Frank have in common? Aside from being books on the Gilford Library shelves, each of these books have once been challenged or banned from schools or libraries across the country! If you're familiar with Banned Books you may recognize some of these more infamous titles; Lady Chatterley's Lover, Catch -22, and Lord of The Flies but you may be surprised to learn that many other popular, even treasured tales have been challenged during the past and present day. Some of my favorite childhood books: Alice in Wonderland, The Lorax, Harry Potter, and Grimm's Fairy Tales, have all come under fire and asked to be banned from the literary pool. I have a hard time imagining my childhood without a worn and friendly copy of Harry Potter by my side! As someone who grew up reading "banned books”, I agree with author Judy Blume's strong words; "It's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”

Thankfully for young readers, Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read through encouraging readers to examine challenged literary works, bringing to light issues of censorship in our country, highlighting persecuted individuals, and promoting intellectual freedom in libraries, schools, and bookstores. Started in 1982 by the American Library Association (ALA) and library activist Judith Krug, Banned Books Week Campaign has worked for the last 30 years to keep the idea of literary freedom at the forefront of Americans' minds.

During the week of October 1^st through the 6^th, Gilford Public Library will celebrate the 30^th Anniversary of Banned Books Week with Banned Book displays and interactive contests (with prizes for the winners!). All patrons who check out a book during Banned Books Week will also receive a Banned Books Week Bookmark!

Come check out a challenged book or its movie counterpart, review the Banned Books List to see which titles you've read, or find out more about what your Library is doing to protect your First Amendment rights and the FREEDOM TO READ!

Banned Book Week
By Molly Harper, October 1, 2012

The BIG Read
By Molly Harper, October 9, 2012

The leaves are starting to turn, the pumpkins are growing, and Halloween is just around the corner…get yourself in a spooky mood with Edgar Allen Poe and The Big Read at the Gilford Public Library!

One hundred and sixty-three years after the death of Horror and short story master, Edgar Allen Poe, New Hampshire Libraries are revisiting his fiction as part of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. The perfect author for chilling October reading, Edgar Allen Poe possessed a wicked imagination that produced classic tales of horror and mystery which continue to trill readers today.

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American popular culture. Bringing communities together to read and discuss, The Big Read helps to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Coordinated by the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library, NH Reads Edgar Allen Poe is a statewide project that will include more than one hundred events throughout the state in October and early November.

On October 18^th, Gilford Public Library will host Book Discussions of Poe's Classic; Tales of Terror and Deception alongside Linda Fairstein's modern mystery; Entombed. Bring a lunch to the brown bag discussion, or join us in the evening for refreshments and conversation! Copies of The Big Read Book Discussion picks are available at the Circulation Desk.

"I love the idea of people being connected in little communities of reading and discussion,” said Rhetta Colon, Discussion Facilitator, "Poe brings in something a lot of people are familiar with, and its interesting what different people notice (in discussions). It should be a lot of fun!”

Notes from the library

For nearly half a year, the Fifty Shades of Grey series has topped NY Times bestseller lists. Here at the Gilford Public Library, the series—which has appeared on the Top Ten Requests since early April—still has a total of 28 requests with 6 copies. But that's nothing compared to a public library in Minneapolis, which in May had a request list of 2,121 and counting. So far, the series has sold more than 10 million copies, making it the most successful erotic fiction and the fastest selling adult paperback novel in history.

Written by first-time author E.L. James, whose real name is Erika Leonard, the trilogy is about the “virginal” college student, Anastasia, who meets and enters a romantic and sexually submissive relationship with domineering billionaire Christian Grey. That subject matter, for some libraries, has proved to be a problem, despite the fact that the series is encouraging millions of people to read.

Across the country, libraries are generally of the opinion that they ought to provide their patrons with those materials that the patrons want, and that it is not in the interest of the librarians to judge and censor what their patrons have access to. However, censorship is not always such a clear issue; aside from a very clear ban on child pornography, the rules of censorship that deem a literary work ‘obscene' and thus legal to censure are somewhat vague. For that reason, despite the fact that erotica is an accepted genre, there are a few libraries in our country, as the NY Times reported, that have taken issue with and banned the Fifty Shades series.

“We have criteria that we use, and in this case we view this as pornographic material,” said Don Walker, a spokesman for the Brevard County, Florida, government, where the books were banned. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is another place where the library refuses to carry the books, stating that they did not “meet the standards of the community.”

But banning a book isn't so simple, as Brevard discovered; the series has since been re-shelved. For one thing, the question of What community? must be asked. For here in our own community, for some the Fifty Shades series is certainly inappropriate. However, for hundreds of others, the series is a compelling read, and one that has encouraged not only further reading, but also use of the public library. In addition, the censorship of one book calls into question so many other books on a library's shelves. Certainly The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is inappropriate to many readers, as is the Harry Potter series for others.

“I believe in providing our readers with what they want to read,” said Katherine Dormody, director of the Gilford Public Library. For her, whether or not to stock the book was never a question. Instead, what she's asking herself is what books to recommend to the readers who loved the series.

Notes from the library

Each year, the NH Library Trustees Association honors one library with the NH Library of the Year Award, and this year we are delighted to report that the Gilford Public Library has won the award!

The Library of the Year Award is based on three criteria: expansion and improvement of services and technology; enhanced services to a previously underserved part of the community; and development of partnerships with other libraries, community members, and community organizations.

In order to apply for the award, library staff members sat down together to discover if and how we had met these requirements. It was a great experience to look back over what has gone on here at the library in the past year; we were pleased to see the long list of events and activities! It's thanks to the volunteers and patrons of the library that we have such extensive community services and activities—without you, none of it would be possible.

If you frequent the library, you may already know the ways we've expanded our services and technology this year. Services include more than ten ongoing adult groups—including a writing group and a bridge group—with new groups always being added at the request and leadership of members of our community. In addition, this year we've expanded the Check Out An Expert program beyond computer usage; you can now “check out an expert” if you want help writing a resume, tying a fly, learning to use Facebook, and more. As for technology, the library offers a Kindle Fire for check-out, along with a GPS and a telescope. Our computers offer access to Mango (to learn a foreign language), and Ancestry.com.

Each year, hundreds of patrons participate in the Summer Reading Programs simply because it's fun, but what many might not know is that the original goal of the programs is to reach underserved populations. To that end, just before Summer Reading begins, the entire kindergarten, 1^st grade, and 7^th grade comes to the library to take a tour, get a library card, and check out a book. This allows us to reach children who might not otherwise get a chance to come to the library and read. In addition, throughout the year, the library delivers materials to four local daycares. The result has been that numerous daycares make frequent field trips to the library, and this has in turn has encouraged parents to visit the library with their children. Also, the library offers a service to deliver and pick up materials for those patrons who are homebound.

The NH Library Award will be presented on Friday, September 28, at 11:00. If you're a part of the library, come by and join the ceremony, for it's thanks to you that we can receive such an honor. And, if you're not already a part of the library, be sure to stop in, get a card, and see what's going on!

Notes from the library

“As we talked to the little people at the library,” said Children's Librarian Tracey Petrozzi, “we realized that so many of them just didn't know the old nursery rhymes and fairy tales.” She and Children's Library Assistant Lura Shute felt something should be done about this. “We wanted the kids to know those stories,” Petrozzi said. So, this fall's Storytime series will feature a theme: Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, and Fables.

But why should children hear these stories? As far as the fairy tales go, in part it's simply because they're so good. The plots are involved and engaging, and though they are simple enough for a child to understand, they work on a complex level, too, refusing to shy away from very real troubles and fears. Also, these stories spark the imagination in an enduring way; I read hundreds of books as a child, but there are none I remember so vividly as Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or The Snow Queen.

In The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim claims that fairy tales offer a child “a moral education which subtly, and by implication only, conveys to him the advantages of moral behavior … through that which seems tangibly right and therefore meaningful to him.” In other words, these stories do not overtly tell a child the difference between right versus wrong, but instead focus on “who arouses his sympathy, and who his antipathy.”

“But they're so gruesome!” is a sentence I frequently hear when speaking to people about fairy tales. It's true—they're really not nice. Hansel and Gretel actually push the witch into the fire, and leave her “to be burned to ashes.” This sort of violence is not typically seen in children's literature, which more often paints a happy, colorful world. But I think that in part, it was the gruesome nature of these stories that made them so compelling to my childhood mind. After all, as Bettelheim points out in his book, children are aware that troubles like crime, violence, and death exist; fairy tales, he asserts, offer a context to make sense of those troubles without letting them become scary. The fairy tales, he says, provide a simple place to “grapple with fears in a remote, symbolic form.”

But that's not to say that all fairy tales are gruesome, nor is it to say that these stories are told only in the interest of helping children. This fall, the Children's Room Storytimes will tell these stories, along with nursery rhymes and fables, just to have a good time. So if you have a child between the ages of 18 months and 5 years, join us in the Children's Room! We have BabyGarten, Toddler Time, and Storytimes each week; sign up is required for some of the sessions, so call or stop by the library for more information.

Notes from the library

Right now, the temperature at the South Pole is -94° F, with a wind chill of -132° F. It is, in fact, too cold to run the South Pole webcam. “It was really living at the bottom of the earth,” said Jean Merchant, who spent five months at South Pole Station. Merchant will be at the Gilford Public Library on Tuesday, September 11, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., to give us the sense of what life was like in the coldest place on earth.

“Some people had to go outside every day for their jobs,” Merchant said. “I went out every day by choice.” That's quite an accomplishment, for not only is Antarctica the coldest continent, but it's also the windiest, and, surprisingly, driest place on earth. “It really doesn't snow much,” she said. “There are ice crystals, but not snow.”

In total, it's estimated that Antarctica receives an average of 2 inches of precipitation per year. Ninety-eight percent of the 5.4 million square mile continent is covered in an ice sheet. At South Pole Station, Merchant was 9,300 feet above sea level. According to the National Science Foundation, plant life is limited to “mostly algae, lichens, and mosses.” There are also “a few known species of flowering plants,” and “only microscopic animals (such as mites and worms).”

Merchant went to Antarctica on a five-month assignment, from October 2007 to February 2008, which is Antarctica's summer. That means that she experienced 24-hour daylight, and an average temperature in the –70s.

South Pole Station wasn't Merchant's first time working and living in an extreme, remote environment; she had previously worked on Johnston Atoll, a small island, tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. While there, she met someone who had worked in Antarctic. “I thought, Why not?” After her work in the Pacific was done, Antarctica offered another adventure in which she could stay in her profession—human resources—and continue to support a remote workforce, which she says she really enjoys.

When asked to describe what Antarctica looks like, Merchant said, “Flat,” and laughed a bit; it seems that's a question that is most often asked, and hardest to answer. Thankfully, she has photographs, which she will share with us when she comes to the library for Destination: South Pole. The program is free and open to the public, and will be held on Tuesday, September 11, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Notes from the library

If you regularly come to the library looking for book suggestions, it’s likely that librarian Betty Tidd has recommended Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River. “It’s one of the best books I’ve read all year!” Betty has said numerous times. So I picked it up—and quickly found myself simultaneously furious at and in sympathy with its narrator, a young, troubled girl named Maggie Crane. I wanted to keep turning the pages, but I also wanted to throw the book at the wall. This of course meant that Betty and I had a wonderful discussion about the book. Now Once Upon a River is September’s book discussion pick, so if you’re looking for something compelling to read, come and pick it up!

Writer Bonnie Jo Campbell has one of the more fascinating biographies that I’ve encountered: she grew up on a small Michigan farm where she castrated small pigs, milked Jersey cows, and made chocolate candy. She then studied philosophy, and eventually enrolled in a PhD program for mathematics. She also hitchhiked across the U.S. and Canada, traveled with the circus, and led bike tours in Russia and Belarus. Now she lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she writes and raises goats.

If you look on Campbell’s blog, you’ll find a post that features a photo of a small, makeshift crystal meth operation that she recently stumbled upon in the woods. That she encounters such trouble in her real life is no surprise; her fiction exposes a dark world riddled with abject poverty, drug addiction, and violence. But that is not to say that the books are strictly grim. Rather, with incredible insight and honesty, Campbell writes about the people whom she calls “her clan”—the sort of people she has grown up around and come to understand. She writes about their hardships, but what she finally writes about is their survival. And, she writes about the landscape that has shaped these people, and their necessary interaction with it.

“Survival,” Campbell recently said in an interview with TriQuarterly Review, “in all its forms, is one of my main themes. I am interested in characters whose survival is at risk. A few people give me a hard time for always writing about poor and distraught people, but in my family and my community it is always a point of pride to call someone a survivor.” It is this unfiltered and unflinching look at the need for and efforts of survival that has brought popularity to Campbell’s work; in 2009 her novel American Salvage was nominated for the National Book Award. It was an unlikely pick, for it had been published by a small press, but in addition to the acuity of the writing, the book revealed a slice of American life that is rarely written about.

Living in rural New Hampshire, much of Once Upon a River might seem familiar to readers. In part, I know that’s why I had such strong reactions to the book; the people were real to me, and I could imagine their lives. In the end, I feel strongly ambivalent about the book, but I know it’s an incredible, thought-provoking read, and is sure to make a good discussion.

The book discussions will be held on Thursday, September 13, at 12:30 and 6:30. All are welcome and encouraged to join. Happy reading!

Notes from the library

Working the circulation desk at the library, I frequently hear questions and comments about the impact that all the electronic gadgets have had upon reading. The general assumption is that people—particularly young people—aren't reading much anymore. But it turns out that that just isn't true; in fact, according to a comprehensive study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts, the years 2002 to 2008 saw the first rise in young adult reading since 1982, when the NEA began their studies. That rise was a cause for celebration, and was in part due to national efforts to get people reading, including National Library Card Sign-up Month, which falls in September.

That NEA report, called Reading on the Rise, didn't just show an increase in young adult readership; it showed that 16.6 million more adults were reading in 2009 than at the beginning of the decade. Here at the Gilford Library, that rise is evident. “I've never seen it like this before,” says librarian Betty Tidd, who has been with the GPL for twelve years. “It's busy all the time, in any weather. This summer reading program was the biggest we've ever had.”

In addition to the various reading initiatives that have been put in place to instill reading, for young adults it may be that the rise in reading is directly linked to the material being published. In the article “Young People Are Reading More Than You,” authors Hannah Withers and Lauren Ross point out that it is “perhaps not a coincidence” that the publication of the Harry Potter series corresponds with the rise in YA reading. That series began a reading craze; the fifth book sold 5 million copies in just the first 24 hours it was available. Since that time, the craze has continued with other series, like Twilight and The Hunger Games. And, as Withers and Ross point out, most of these books are not short. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix “is six pages longer than Anna Karenina,” for example.

As for adults, the explosion of book clubs is partially responsible for the rise in reading, and Oprah has made no small impact in that regard; as reported by Katie Wu in “The Book Club Phenomena,” when Oprah chose Steinbeck's East of Eden it sold 60,000 copies in one hour, and when she chose Tolstoy's Anna Karenina it sold 79,000 copies in one week, which doubled “the book's total U.S. sale since its English publication in 1886.” And it's not just Oprah fans who are reading; “in 1990 there were about 50,000 book clubs in the U.S. By 2000, the number had doubled—low estimates count at least 100,000 book clubs.”

Right now, not only are more people reading, but the world's literacy rates are the highest they've ever been. That's great news, for time and time again studies show the benefits of reading, including “better health, greater social equality, increased economic prosperity,” and increased “social, gender, education, and ethnic equality.”

In the U.S., according to the research company Harris Interactive, 62% of Americans are library cardholders. That's a high number, but considering that there are more public libraries in the U.S. than there are McDonald's, the number can also seem low. So if you don't have a library card, stop by in September to celebrate National Library Card Sign-up Month with us. Not only will you gain access to endless information and entertainment, but you'll also join a community that offers a wide range of clubs, including mahjong, knitting, photography, foreign movies, and more. Happy reading!

Old Home Day

Though it might feel like Old Home Day happens everywhere, the truth is that the holiday is a uniquely New Hampshire tradition. It began with Governor Frank West Rollins, who was haunted by the abandoned farms of our state. Wanting young people to return home and bring life back to these farms, in 1899 he began what was then called Old Home Week as a time to visit, celebrate, and reinvest in our New Hampshire towns.

Over the last 100-plus years that celebration has certainly changed, but still the idea—to visit, celebrate, and reinvest—stands strong. Here in Gilford, 2012 marks our 93^rd annual Old Home Day, and it's likely to be a grand one, for it's also Gilford's bicentennial. As a center for the community, the library is one of the main attractions for the celebration.

This year, the library will again host the annual Pie, Ice Cream & Book Sale, and we also have some special events. First, the Gilford Scenes calendar is now back, and will be on sale for $15. The photos were taken by library patrons and chosen by judges out of a batch of more than 50. A limited number of copies of the calendar will be printed, so be sure to arrive early and get your copy!

Also new this year is the silent auction of an antique twin bed from The Balsams. If you've come to the library this summer, you've probably seen the bed on display near the Reading Room—it was placed there in celebration of 2012's Between the Covers Summer Reading theme. If you've seen the bed, you've also likely noticed the wall of Between the Covers photos with many patrons reading their favorite books in the bed. So this year, in addition to treating yourself to pie, ice cream, and some great used books, you can also place a silent bid on that bed.

As always, we're in need of volunteers to help make Old Home Day a success, so if the library is a central part of your community, think about getting involved. There are lots of ways to join—you could bake a pie to donate, help set up for the fundraiser, or help run the sale on Friday or Saturday. Just stop by the library or call to sign up. Children are also invited to help out with (and ride on!) the float—sign up for that will begin on August 15.

The library's Old Home Day festivities will take place on Friday, August 24, at 5:00 p.m. and resume on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. When you stop by, be sure to come browse in the library too; in honor of the bicentennial there will be an exhibit featuring Old Home Day programs from 1967 – 2012, along with old Gilford photos and old Gilford Old Home Day t-shirts. Happy reading!

Notes from the library

In 2006, Nancy Sporborg and Pat Piper decided to go for a hike. They were both in their fifties, and while they had been walking the town sidewalks together for some time, neither had ever hiked much. But after that first hike, they decided to try another, and then another, and then another. Now, six years later, the two women have hiked 273 mountains, including the 48 4,000-footers in New Hampshire, the 67 4,000-footers in New England, and 93 of the 100 highest peaks in New England. On Thursday, August 9, the women will visit the Gilford Public Library with a presentation about their journey.

Following Piper's lead, Sporborg began to write ‘hike reports,' and eventually to post these reports online. As the hikes went on, Sporborg's reports got more and more in depth; no longer were they accounts of how many Power Bars she'd eaten on the way up, or what sort of blisters she'd developed. Instead, they spoke of something deeper.

“Something was happening to me out there,” said Sporborg. “There was something big at work. I was healing wounds … experiencing true joy.” It wasn't long before Sporborg looked at her reports and decided to compile them into a book, It's Not About the Hike: Two Ordinary Women on an Extraordinary Journey. To go along with the book, the women have developed an interactive presentation that they've been touring the state with.

Much like the book, Sporborg and Piper's presentation is an inspirational one. Sporborg points out that while hiking, she and Piper experience “natural splendor” along with the “wrath of the weather,” “steep slides,” and “exhaustion” that all combine to make hiking a beautiful metaphor for life. It was from that idea—that these hikes help the women to work through “universal stories and struggles”—that the phrase It's Not About the Hike came into their minds.

“But you don't have to be a hiker to get something out of the program,” Sporborg said. After all, these two women coined themselves “non-hikers” just six years ago, and the program they've put together is designed for everyone. They'll show slides, short movie clips, play music, and talk with the crowd about their journey and how it has changed and enriched their lives.

Sporborg and Piper will be at the Gilford Public Library on Thursday, August 9, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to present It's Not About the Hike. The program is free and open to the public; all are welcome and encouraged to join.

Notes from the library

I am fortunate in that most of my days start off with a hike. I love to hike alone by flowing streams and on narrow hiking trails with trees surrounding me. It makes me feel centered and I find that every day is better if it begins surrounded by nature. So, this time of year, I spray on the bug juice and head for the trails. An observant daughter-in-law noticed that one of my wall decorations has more feathers in it every time she visits. This time of year I usually have some wildflowers in rock vases reminding me of my hikes. Or, perhaps I come home with a sighting. Often it's a bird, but on a really, really good day it might be something more. I've seen deer, moose, bear and last summer I saw a bobcat and its mom. I have never seen a mountain lion.

“Over the years many people have claimed to see mountain lions in northern New Hampshire” says author Rick Davidson. “Years ago mountain lions were indigenous to the area but supposedly they aren't here any longer”. Even their name is elusive…cougar, puma, ghost cat or catamount? Take your pick. An individual cat's range depends on food availability--they need 8-10 lbs a day to survive--so their range can vary from 10-375 miles. We do know that one was killed in CT last year, so if they aren't in the state we know they are close.

Davidson is an award winning photographer, sometime guitar player and he has worked on several independent films. From film-making he got the bug to write something set in northern New Hampshire. At first he was thinking it might be a film but he decided to try his hand at fiction. Because he is an avid outdoorsman and fly fisherman he combined many of his interests into “Catamount” a North Country Thriller”. He ran the gamut of rejections before being approached by a local publisher, Breech River Books and now he is working on his second book.

As part of our Get Booked series Rick Davidson will talk about his book and share a slideshow of mountain lion sightings on Tuesday, July 24 at the library meeting room at 6:30 p.m. This program is free and copies of his book will be available for purchase.

Notes from the library

“My theory is that if food tastes great before it goes into the pot, I don't need to work as hard or as long for it to taste great when it comes out,” said cookbook writer and Associated Press Food Editor J.M. Hirsch, who will be at the Gilford Public Library for our Get Booked series on Thursday, August 2, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

A busy husband and a father to a seven-year-old boy, as well as a lover of good, healthy, high-flavor food, Hirsch has made it his goal to consistently cook “good food, real meals that we enjoy within the short timeframe.” Hirsch points out that he's not a trained chef, that he never meant to go into the food business, and that he is always short on time. Because of that, he is a firm believer in the idea that nearly all families—no matter how busy—can share good, real food every single day. Hirsch's most recent cookbook, High Flavor, Low Labor, teaches people just that.

“My recipes use robust ingredients,” Hirsch said. “Ginger, soy, chipotles, jalapeños, parmesan, balsamic vinegar.” It's these sorts of ingredients that allow people to not only eat something flavorful at the end of the day, but also to get it to the dinner table fast.

And it's not just good food at dinner that Hirsch is interested in—he aims to feed his family good food at all hours of the day. To that end, he's made it his hobby to pack his 7-year-old son lunches that “he'll eat” and Hirsh will “feel good about.” That hobby transformed into a blog, Lunch Box Blues, that chronicles these nutritious, creative lunches; to date, the blog has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, the Martha Stewart Show, and many other news outlets. Lunches include a banana and peanut butter burrito, mini ham and cheese quiches, blueberry muffin pancakes, plus lots of fruit. Again, though Hirsch doesn't have much time, he writes on his blog that he still wants his son “to eat healthy and be excited for lunchtime.” So far, it seems he's succeeded at that.

All of Hirsch's recipes—those in the cookbook and those on the blog—come about quite spontaneously. “Ninety-five percent of them come from desperation,” he remarked. He thinks about dinner while he's running around, but he doesn't have the time to really sit down and plan. Instead, it's a matter of opening the fridge, seeing what's there, and going through some trial and error. “If it's good, if my family enjoys it, I recreate a written version then test it.”

On Thursday, August 2, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Hirsh will be at the library to talk about his life as the food editor for the world's largest news organization; his cookbook and blog; and what he calls his “strange” world of living in rural New Hampshire but working with such food celebrities as Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray.

Notes from the library

Beginning on July 18, the Gilford Public Library will host a four-week Middle Eastern cooking class in which participants will learn to cook “real, home-cooked Middle Eastern food” from scratch. The course is a great opportunity to expand your cooking and cultural horizons, and a great way to just do something different this summer.

“When you buy Middle Eastern food in the supermarket,” says Summer Kalaf, who will lead the class, “it just doesn't taste the same.” True Middle Eastern food, she says, is full of “flavor and spice.” Course participants will experience that first hand; each week, they'll make a different meal, and then eat what they cook and take home what's left over. The menu includes the homemade (and more delicious) versions of some dishes that are already popular in our area, like stuffed grape leaves, tabouli, and hummus, as well as some less-known items like fatayer spinach pies, Syrian fattoush salad, and the famous eggplant dish baba ghanous.

Kalaf, who was born in Kuwait, has been cooking Middle Eastern food “forever.” The idea of leading a cooking class arose when she was teaching Arabic at Laconia's Adult Learning Center; students had heard about her food, and they wanted to learn how to make it. Since that time, Kalaf has led a few cooking classes, and she points out that in these classes students “don't just sit there. If I am stuffing grape leaves, they are stuffing grape leaves. That is how they really learn to cook the food.”

The 4-week course will be run on Wednesdays, from 1:00 to 3:30, beginning July 18. There is a $55 charge, which covers all the food costs. There is a 6-person limit to the class, so if you're interested then sign up early! And if you're interested in learning how to cook a different sort of food, but can't make it to the class, stop by the library and see what books we have. Here's a look at a few.

Born in Israel, Yotam Ottolenghi is a chef who now owns four famous restaurants in London. His cookbook, Plenty, is a truly vibrant book stuffed full with Middle Eastern recipes that are both delicious and easy to follow. (When I took this book home, I made a different dish for nearly three weeks straight. All of them were fantastic!)

Another great new international cookbook is Easy Chinese Recipes, by Bee Yin Low. This book is filled with typical take-out favorites, but when cooked at home—with Low's simple instructions—the foods take on a new life. And for a summer treat, you could try Paletas, by Fany Gerson—it's a Mexican cookbook filled with ice pops, shaved ice, and other frozen delights. Finally, if you just want to get a clearer picture of how the rest of the world eats, check out What the World Eats, by Faith D'Aluisio and photographer Peter Menzel. It's a fascinating look at twenty-five families around the world as they sit down to eat.

If you're looking for something different to eat, sign up for the class and stop by the library to find a new cookbook!

Notes from the library

“I was a wild and reckless youth,” begins one nun, whose story of the religious life is one of many recorded in Habits of Change: An Oral History of American Nuns by Carole Garibaldi Rogers. Another story begins, “When I was in fourth grade, somehow or other, one day I decided I wanted to be a sister.” In all, the stories of nearly 100 nuns are chronicled in the book, and on Tuesday, July 10, Rogers will be at the Gilford Public Library to discuss her work, along with the process and importance of oral history.

“I'm a journalist by trade,” Rogers said. She pointed out that though she had conducted many interviews before Habits, it had never been in this way. Here, “only the words of the narrator mattered.” That appealed to Rogers: “I didn't know about [the nuns] lives … but I felt it was time for their voices to be heard.”

A journalist who has always been interested in exploring the changing lives of women, Rogers was particularly drawn to the lives of nuns because “they have undergone tremendous change since the 1960s.” Many of the nuns interviewed lived through the shifts that arose with feminism, Civil Rights, and the Vatican II, and Rogers believed that these changes “must have profoundly affected their lives.” She set out to discover if that belief was true.

In each interview, Rogers asked the same three basic questions: Why did you enter religious life? What were some of the crisis points or times of change in your religious life? (Or, put another way: How have you become the person you are today?) Why are you still religious?

“There were times when those interviews were very emotional, and that was difficult,” Rogers said. “But these were emotionally and spiritually mature women. They had spent much of their lives thinking about these things, so it wasn't alien to them to look back upon their lives and talk about what they saw.”

Rogers first conducted the interviews in the 1990s, and she checked back in with the women in 2009. After that set of interviews, she sat down to organize the book in a way that would make sense for the reader, highlight the importance of these nuns' lives, and put their stories in a larger historical context. The result is an astonishing oral history of a way of life that is seldom spoken of.

Rogers, who summers here in Gilford and spends the rest of the year in New Jersey, will be at the Gilford Public Library for this summer's second installment of the Get Booked series on Tuesday, July 10, at 6:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public; all are welcome to join.

Notes from the library

“The way I see it,” says chef and bestselling cookbook author Paula Deen, “there are two great reasons to grill and barbecue outside: the flavor is incredible, and it's just about the most fun you can have making dinner.” Since she's a Southerner, she can cook outside year-round, but here in Gilford our grilling time is limited, which makes it an even more celebratory occasion. And grilling doesn't have to just mean burgers and steak—lots of vegetables, and fruits, for that matter, can find a home on the grill. If you're looking for some inspiration, here's a glance at what you can find at the library.

One of the most interesting new grilling books is The Gardener & the Grill by Karen Adler. The book offers entire meals—like grilled pizza or fish tacos—as well as side vegetable dishes. And, meat and fish aren't ignored either—they're just cooked in recipes surrounded by vegetables. Some highlights of the book include grilled green tomato sandwiches, grilled beets with scallions, grilled gazpacho, and even seared peaches.

Grill This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding is marked as a “backyard survival guide” that offers more than 100 recipes to help you “strip calories” and “save hundreds of dollars” at the same time. The book includes Tandoori chicken, Chinese spareribs, and shrimp po'boys, all of which look like the sort of food you'd splurge on, but are promised to be both low-cost and low-calorie.

If neither of these books are what you're after, you can always return to Paula Deen, whose most recent cookbook, Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible, features an entire chapter on grilling. Her classic recipes include beer can chicken, quick BBQ chicken, and Memphis dry-rub ribs. And, in addition to the standard recipes, Paula offers a bit of history and simple variations on traditional dishes.

Once you find your book, there are also lots of grilling tips to help you. Alton Brown, creator and host of Good Eats on the Food Network, is a great source for some grilling pointers. He owns a total of seven grills—each with its own specialty—and he says that if there's one tip he wants people to remember, it's this: “Flame is bad.” “Flames do nasty things to food,” he says, not the least of which includes depositing “various chemicals that are not good for us.” In addition to keeping the flames away, he also recommends bringing the meat to room temperature before grilling, salting before grilling, and not forgetting to try grilling vegetables and fruits.

If you're looking to improve your grilling skills or to bring some creativity to your summer cooking, stop by the library and see what's available!

Notes from the library

Study after study has shown that reading during summer months increases students' reading, writing, and communication abilities, but studies have also shown that during the summer months, students who lack access to books experience what's known as the “summer slide,” wherein their reading and reading-related skills actually decline.

It is just this loss that the Collaborative Summer Library Program—which creates a national Summer Reading theme and suggested curriculum each year—is designed to combat. And the program does help; one Johns Hopkins study found that “students who didn't read during the summer lagged two years behind their book-reading peers.”

So the aim of Summer Reading is to get books into the hands of children, but also to make reading fun for the child, the family, and the community by offering programs that support and enhance the reading experience. This year's national theme for children is Dream Big; for teens it's Own the Night; and for adults it's Between the Covers.

“It's all exciting!” says children's librarian Tracey Petrozzi, who has put together an incredible list of children's programs for the summer. Some Dream Big highlights include the annual kick-off ice cream social with music by Paul Warnick; a visit from Lindsay and Her Puppet Pals, which are giant, handmade puppets who help Lindsay tell stories; The Magic of the Steelgraves magic show with real doves; and a visit from the Squam Lakes Science Center to explore an animal's nightlife. In addition, as always, children can play the reading board game to track their reading and earn prizes.

As teens read and earn prizes with Own the Night, they'll also have the chance to attend a Hunger Games party, archery lessons, an afternoon of ghost stories, a Zombie Fashion Show, and a homemade pizza party.

Adults can start their summer by reading Between the Covers right here at the library; beginning on Monday, June 18, we'll have an antique bed on display for two weeks. Patrons are invited to stop by, hop in the bed with their favorite book, and have a picture taken. Also on the schedule for adults is the annual Author Series, which features a different author every month, and the Destination Series, which will offer presentations on Poland, New Zealand, and the South Pole.

Summer Reading will begin on Monday, June 25^th. For a complete schedule of events, along with a Summer Reading brochure, just stop by the library. Happy

Notes from the library

Around here, it's hard to keep your Spanish fresh, but thanks to Rosa Blais and the Gilford Public Library, there's now a weekly conversation group open to all who wish to sharpen and practice their skills. “I'm excited about it,” said Blais, who points out that the plan came about because people were stopping by the library in search of such a group. Starting today, the conversations will take place every Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Blais, who will “casually” lead the conversations, is herself a native speaker of Spanish; she was born in Spain, and moved to the US when she was 9 years old. After that, she learned English, and her family continued to speak Spanish at home. Now she says she has tried to raise her own sons bilingually, “and they certainly have a conversational level.” Those sons—now teenagers—will help Blais lead the weekly conversations.

“I want it to be low-key,” she said, “not too structured.” In the past, she's done this sort of group in a relaxed setting—like a restaurant or café—and she'd like to carry that atmosphere to the group at the library. “Just chit-chat at first,” she said, like introductions and general questions about where people learned the language. “It's always great to hear how people know Spanish … you end up hearing their stories from all over.”

To aid in the “low-key” nature of the group, Blais will bring the Spanish version of popular games—like Trivial Pursuit, Apples to Apples, and Bananagrams—to the conversations. “Hopefully the games will keep it fun,” she said, “instead of intellectual!”

Blais's only rule for the group is this: No English! Though participants might be reluctant to speak only in Spanish, Blais points out that falling back on English will defeat the purpose of the group. That means that though listeners are always welcome, it is important that participants are capable of conversation-level Spanish. Also, due to the potential nature of the conversations, the group is geared toward teens and up. “It would be great if upper-level high schoolers show up,” Blais said, “or even their teachers. It's a great opportunity for the Spanish teachers to speak and practice.”

If you're interested in using your Spanish skills, come by the library on a Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00 and join the group! Also, remember that Spanish isn't the only adult group the library will run this summer; other ongoing groups include the Social Bridge Group, the Mahjong Group, the Rug-Hooking Group, the Write Now Writers' Group, the Knit Wits, and of course the monthly Book Discussion Group. In addition, this summer the library will host two special groups: a six-week watercolor class with painter Mary Lou John, and a four-week Middle Eastern cooking class with cook Summer Kalaf. So no matter what your interests are, stop by the library and see what's going on!

Notes from the library

“Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best,” wrote Dr. Seuss in his legendary Oh, the Places You'll Go! which I recently reread since it's spring, when so many people are in search of the right book for a graduate. “Wherever you go, you'll top all the rest.” But those lines didn't sit right with me; blah, blah, I thought when I read them, that's just not true. However, I still turned the page, and was delighted to find this: “Except when you don't, because sometimes you won't.” It's a welcome surprise—an inspirational book that doesn't mask the “bumps” and “slumps,” the waiting, the loneliness, and the fears that will also surely accompany us in life.

Published in 1990, this little book continues to top the Children's Bestseller lists, particularly from mid-April to Mid-June, when thousands of people purchase it for graduates. Perhaps it's that honest but uplifting look at life that accounts for the book's success; though the book speaks to the troubles that will come, it manages to focus—in part with its pictures and rhythm—on the playfulness and the excitement of life. And on nearly every page, the book offers a faith in the reader that is at once extraordinary and believable.

Anna Quindlen's A Short Guide to a Happy Life is another great book for graduates. This one is a little more serious in tone, takes a little bit longer to read, and is perhaps more suited to the reader who wants some specific advice: turn off the cell phone, look at the view, be generous. “You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life,” Quindlen writes. “Your particular life. Your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in the car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank account, but your soul.” Though this book and Dr. Seuss's both focus on finding fulfillment, this one is not so much about the journey ahead but how to recognize the greatness that already surrounds us. After all, “If you win the rat race,” Quindlen reminds us, “you're still a rat.”

This year, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen's How Will You Measure Your Life? is another big hit for graduates. A remarkably successful businessman, Christensen was disheartened to realize that so many of his former students, while successful in their careers, felt unfulfilled. It seems this discovery came at about the same time when he himself suffered a stroke and cancer diagnosis. Thus his new book, which he wrote after he fought the same cancer that took his father's life. In the book, Christensen creates tools for a “happy, meaningful, purpose-filled life” by setting his personal stories alongside the very same management ideas that led to his business success. Though the final message is quite similar to that of Seuss's and Quindlen's, this book is a good fit for the business-minded readers.

So if you're looking to offer guidance, advice, or support for a graduate this year, stop by the library and take a look at what we have. Happy reading!

Notes from the library

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn ….” wrote Jack Kerouac in his famous On the Road. Today, that book that spoke to and defined an entire generation of readers has been turned into a movie, to be released this month.

In 1949, soon after dropping out of Columbia University, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady left New York City in a Cadillac limousine for the cross-country road trip that would later become the subject of On the Road. The legend of that book is this: Because he didn't want to interrupt his flow of writing, Kerouac cut and taped strips of paper together so that they would move through the typewriter in one continuous flow. The result, after three weeks of furious writing, was a 119-foot scroll; that scroll was On the Road, and not a word of it was ever revised.

However, there's more to the story. “Kerouac cultivated this myth that he was this spontaneous prose man,” says Kerouac scholar Paul Marion, “and that everything he ever put down was never changed, and that's not true.” The truth is that Kerouac was a “supreme craftsman, and devoted to writing and the writing process.” Once that scroll was complete, Kerouac revised for seven years before seeing its publication, and in that time he wrote as many as six drafts of the book.

Still, that “spontaneous” voice was expertly captured in the novel, and its rejection of middle-class American conventions (and literary conventions) awakened a generation. Immediately, the book became a “basic text for youth who found their country claustrophobic and oppressive,” and Kerouac became known as the “Father of the Beat Generation,” that literary and cultural movement that would soon inform the 1960s hippy culture. Today, more than five decades later, the book continues to sell more than 100,000 copies annually.

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Kerouac died on October 21, 1969, at 47 years old. Since his death, much more of his work has been discovered and published. New to the library this month, in fact, is The Sea is My Brother, Kerouac's previously unpublished first novel, written in 1943, when he was a Merchant Marine. Of On the Road, Bob Dylan once said, “It changed my life like it changed everyone else's.” So, before you go see the movie that pays tribute to that book, stop by the library and check out one of Kerouac's books!

Notes from the library

“Remembrance is the least we owe,” Madeleine Albright recently said. She was speaking of her new book, Prague Winter, and specifically about the members of her family who were killed by “by gun, gas, or disease” during World War II. And what better way is there to offer remembrance than through a book? What else can reel us right into another life and time, so that not only is the place as real to us as our own home, but so too are the people and the complexities of their lives?

This coming Monday, May 28, is Memorial Day, and in honor of that day, the library has a display of war stories. Spanning hundreds of decades, the books include memoir and fiction set in places as different as the US, Japan, Norway, Hungary, Iraq, and Rwanda. Below are some highlights from that display.

Mentioned earlier, Prague Winter is one of those rare and spectacular books that seems to speak to all sorts of readers, no matter the genre they typically prefer. Albright was already 59 years old, and living a very public life, when she learned that her ancestral heritage was Jewish. Up until that point, she had simply known that she was from Czechoslovakia, and had moved during the war. “The revelation [of heritage] shook my deeply ingrained sense of identity, and prompted me to seek answers to questions I had never thought to ask,” she said. Her new book tells the story of her personal journey, and also “a much wider tale concerning a generation compelled to make painful moral choices amid the tumult of war.”

Steinbeck in Vietnam is another newly released book, and this one shows a little-seen side of a writer who many of us love. Though Steinbeck was most known for his Depression-era work, during Vietnam Newsday sent him to the major combat areas, where he observed life and war, and sent columns home. They are the last works he ever published, and as NPR notes, “these reports shocked readers and family so much that they've never been reprinted — until now.” That's because these columns seem to support the war effort, and this came at a time when protests were spreading. Says Editor Thomas E. Barden, who compiled the book, “People worried about his reputation, saying maybe we should just never speak of these again.” But Barden points out that Steinbeck remains a beloved writer, and that people have the right to judge this work for themselves. “Everything this man wrote should be on the shelf,” he said. “And now it is.” No matter what his political leanings were, Steinbeck was an incredible observer and journalist, and the columns are breathtaking.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, a novel by Ben Fountain, is a contemporary story of America at a time of war, and of one solider, Billy. The novel unfolds during Billy's last hours at home before his return to Iraq. Hailed by the New York Times as an “inspired, blistering war novel” that explores “class, privilege, power, politics, sex, commerce and the life-or-death dynamics of battle,” this story offers a real, poignant, and devastating look at our times.

Other powerful new war stories currently on display at the library include Blue Asylum, a novel of women's lives during the Civil War; Outlaw Platoon, a memoir of a solider in Afghanistan; and To End All Wars, a non-fiction account of WWI. So, this Memorial Day, we can all heed Madeleine Albright's advice, and offer remembrance by way of a book.

Notes from the library

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay, all by Suzanne Collins, have been at the top of the Gilford Library's Top Ten Requests list for weeks now, not to mention the top of New York Times Bestseller lists. Other than the fact that they've swept the country, the books are of special note because they are for teens and middle graders. That means that kids, many of whom claim to hate reading, are lining up to check these books out. And, the adults are lining up with them.

If your children describe the premise of the books to you, you'll likely be shocked or horrified: a corrupt government rules over a dystopian future of North America, and each year the government chooses children from a random lottery who will compete in the “Hunger Games.” The children whose names are drawn enter an elaborate arena to fight with each other to the death. The game ends only when one contestant remains.

The books are just as gruesome as they sound. Take this passage, for example, told by 13-year-old narrator Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to enter the games in place of her little sister: “My arrow drives deeply into the center of his neck. He falls to his knees and halves the brief remainder of his life by yanking out the arrow and drowning in his own blood.” The violence is all the more palpable because the story is so well-written; it resists all simplicities, and instead lets individual characters be both good and evil, and even lets love be complicated. But alongside this violence and uncertainty, the story is also fun, and impossible to put down.

“Those books made me want to read all through the night, I wanted to carry the books to the dinner table,” said 13-year-old Tasha Tyler, an avid reader who claims that The Hunger Games trilogy has to be her favorite of the year. “They're just so great,” she said.

When I asked her about the violence, at first she said that it wasn't so prominent. “Katniss,” she said, “is just awesome,” a self-sufficient character who “you just know is going to join the rebellion.” Pretty soon Tasha was relating horrific scenes from the book, each to describe Katniss's strength. Eventually Tasha stopped and said, “The books are pretty scary, actually. They're morbid. It's really sad, actually, that we all want to read them.”

When she said that, Tasha unknowingly hit on just what critics say about these books: “An overt critique of violence,” wrote Katie Roiphe in the New York Times Book Review, “the series makes warfare deeply personal, forcing readers to contemplate their own roles as desensitized voyeurs.”

It seems that was part of Collins's goal with the books. “One night, I was lying in bed, and I was channel surfing between reality TV programs and actual war coverage,” Collins told the School Library Journal. “On one channel, there's a group of young people competing for I don't even know; and on the next, there's a group of young people fighting in an actual war. I was really tired, and the lines between these stories started to blur in a very unsettling way.”

Collins herself grew up painfully aware of war; at age six she watched her father leave for Vietnam. Eventually, the family moved to a base in Brussels, and there her father would take every opportunity to educate her about the horrors of war. That, she told the New York Times, is what she's doing now. “If we wait too long [to educate children], what kind of expectation can we have? We think we're sheltering them, but what we're doing is putting them at a disadvantage.”

And this point is not lost on young readers. “I think there's truth to the books,” said Tasha. “I can see this kind of future. And,” she went on, “it's sad, but maybe people have a hunger for seeing this sort of thing, for seeing if people can survive. Maybe it's because we're related to animals, because some of them are so vicious. But the books are amazing!” Tasha added, “And I can't wait to see the movie.”

Notes from the library

In the town where I used to live, there was a wonderful little tea shop called Butterfly Herbs. Tea-filled glass jars lined one wall, and you could choose any variety you wanted, take it to the counter, and then have a pot made for just one dollar. You could take your pot to a booth or sit at the counter and drink, and you could always get a refill of hot water—at no charge—which meant that your one pot could last for hours. And I indeed spent hours there; I went alone to read or just get out of the house, I went to meet with various friends, and when family came to town, I always took them for a pot of tea.

“Growing up, I had a girlfriend whose family had tea time every afternoon,” said Children's Librarian Tracy Petrozzi, who will run this year's annual Mother's Day Tea at the Gilford Public Library this Saturday, May 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. “I always tried to make it to her house in time for it,” Tracy said. I asked her why. She was just a kid then, after all, and this was a sit-down affair with adults. For a minute she just looked at me, and then she burst, “It was tea time!” And, after another minute, “It was just wonderful.”

I think anyone who's had the occasion of sitting down with no other purpose than to drink a pot of tea can agree—and people have been agreeing for more than 5,000 years, when tea seems to have first come into existence. Some reasons for this long affair we've had with tea are obvious—it's a good pick-me-up, or, if it's herbal, a good way to relax. But aside from these effects, there's something unnamable that tea can do to a mood or a conversation. In my experience, sitting down to a pot of tea can make it seem like all else in the world has, at least momentarily, dropped away.

For over a decade the Gilford Public Library has been celebrating Mother's Day with this annual mother-daughter tea. This year, in addition to drinking tea out of china in a room that's been transformed to a tea house, mothers and daughters will also decorate and wear lady's hats; listen to a Gilford Historical Society presentation about hats; and, in honor of the Gilford Bicentennial, hear Jane Ellis perform a bicentennial song. Tea and punch will be served, along with an array of tea-time foods. Also, mothers and daughters will have the chance to get their pictures taken together in their hats.

“It's one of my favorite events of the year,” says Assistant Children's Librarian Lura Shute, who has been helping to put on the event for four years. “I get to bring my daughter, and we just get to talk and mingle. It's a great time with her.”

The Mother's Day Tea will take place in the meeting room of the Gilford Public Library on Saturday, May 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. If you have any questions about the event, just call or stop by the library. Mothers and daughters of all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Notes from the library

“The myths and legends of the Holy Grail, the sword in the stone, the knights of the round table, these all have relevance now,” says author and speaker Diana Durham, who will be at the Gilford Public Library on Tuesday, May 8, for Grail Mania: A 21^st Century Retelling of a 12^th Century Heresy. “The stories encode meaning,” Durham says, and by connecting to that meaning, we can better understand our own lives, and the paths that lie before us.

Though her work, including a book titled The Return of King Arthur (2004), centers upon Arthurian legends, Durham points out that she wasn't always a scholar of these stories. In fact, at the time when the stories came into and changed her life, she only knew “little bits and pieces, the main symbols.” At that point, Durham lived in an intentional spiritual community. “Life can be really intense when you live like that,” she says. “It occurred to me that it was like a quest … we had some horrible adventures, and, sometimes, beauty would emerge.”

That moment, when Durham first thought of her journey as one analogous to a quest, as those of Arthurian legend, defined her career path. “It came to me like a vivid dream,” she says. She sat with the idea for some time, and eventually it became clear to her that her goal was to write a book about the life-changing symbols offered in those legends.

As an example of these symbols and how they resonate today, Durham relates an episode of Perceval's journey. “He's the hero of this one story, and early on he's so naïve,” she says. When he sees a “fearsome” knight with beautiful, shining red armor Perceval declares, in his naivety, that he will claim that armor as his own. “This seems impossible to others,” Durham says. “Of course it does. Our adult logic tells us that he couldn't achieve such a feat.” But in fact he does—and it is only because he is young, and doesn't yet have the sense that his capabilities are limited. “That's this lovely analogy for us,” Durham says. “It reminds us of what we can achieve.”

Though the earliest known mention of King Arthur dates back to before the 11^th century, it was the French medieval poet Chrétien de Troyes who gave us many of the stories that we recognize today, and it was his versions that Durham looked to as she wrote her own work. First she wrote a book that investigates “the quest for wholeness, inner strength, and self-knowledge” using the legends. From there she moved on to a play, for, as a poet, she “wanted to explore the myths through a more poetic, literary form.” Since then, Durham has produced an audio version of her play, and given numerous talks and performances throughout the state.

Gilford Library's Grail Mania will explore the story of Perceval's quest for the Holy Grail, some of which will be told by Durham, and some of which will be enacted by audience members. The program is brought to us by the NH Humanities Council, and will take place on Tuesday, May 8, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public; all are welcome and encouraged to join!

Expanded Check-out-an-Expert

A few months ago, library director Katherine Dormody heard about a library in Canada that came up with a creative way to share the knowledge of its patrons. Since their patrons came from a wealth of cultures, the library began to set up meetings: if you wanted to learn about India, for example, you could come to the library and sit down to have a conversation with someone from India. The program offers a unique, hands-on way of learning, and it makes use of one of its greatest assets: the patrons.

Inspired in part by that library in Canada, and in part by Gilford's own Check-Out-An-Expert program, our library is now expanding its resources with the new Ask-the-Expert program, which offers one-on-one assistance, patron-to-patron, in a variety of areas.

“Everyone is an expert at something,” says Dormody. “And there are just so many talented, interesting people in our community. This is a way for them to share what they know.”

Already, the list of topics you can receive ‘expert' advice on is long. It includes bass and warm water fishing, birding and bird-feeder tips, book mending, knitting and crocheting, hiking the Belknaps, flower arranging, competing in your first triathlon, sewing machine assistance, and more.

Jae Horvath, a student at Gilford Middle School, is our resident Facebook ‘expert,' and so far he's been helping people who did not grow up with computers learn to use this computer tool to keep in touch with their friends and family.

Another popular program began when ESL and adult education teacher Lisa Geer was teaching another volunteer to cover books. “The person happened to be looking for a job, so I just started asking her questions about her resume and interviews,” she says. Librarian and volunteer coordinator Betty Tidd overheard the conversation, and realized that Lisa was quite skilled at this sort of job-coaching.

Now, Lisa has helped a handful of people in our community improve their resumes and prepare for job interviews. Some were in the process of changing careers, and others were just looking to get back into the work force.

“So much of what people need help with is finding the right words. They know what they want to say, but it's a skill to learn how to get that onto paper,” Lisa says.

Facebooking and resume-writing are the programs we've had a lot of response on so far, but you're welcome to learn anything on our list! All you need to do is stop by the library and pick up an Ask-the-Expert flyer, fill out the form, and turn it in at the circulation desk. From there, we'll arrange the meeting at the library. Happy reading!

Notes from the library

In the days of the Beatles and Hendrix, Vietnam, and the Civil Rights Movement, when hippies and protests flooded the country, so too did pollution. “Environment,” according to the Earth Day Network, “was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.” Today, however, that word has become ubiquitous. Largely, that's thanks to Earth Day, which was first celebrated on April 22, 1970.

As Al Gore writes, Earth Day began as a “simple idea for a teach-in” and “exploded into a national event involving 20 million people that changed the course of history.” He's referring to the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, which were a direct result of the first Earth Day. Gore goes on to point out that just 25 years after that first day, air pollution was cut by a third; lead emissions were cut by 98 percent; twice as many rivers and lakes were clean enough to swim in; and there were more than 60,000 community recycling programs. Today, that's a reminder that our small steps really do make a difference.

This Sunday marks the 32^nd annual Earth Day, and if you're looking for a way to celebrate, try stopping in at the library. You can check out a Kill-A-Watt Energy Detector to discover how much energy your appliances use; you can buy a map of the Belknap Range and go for a hike in celebration of the earth; or, as always, you can check out a book. Here's a list of some of our great Earth Day titles.

A 1962 bestseller, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring is known as the book that sparked the environmental revolution both here and abroad. Just one of its accomplishments is that it directly led to the outlaw of DDT. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of its publication, and the book is still just as energetic, inspiring, and poignant as it was in the 60s.

Now is the time to start planting seeds and thinking about gardening, which is an excellent way to do your part for the earth. The library has an extensive collection of gardening books to guide you, no matter your experience level. Some great titles for vegetable gardens include The Edible Front Yard, by Ivette Soler; The Heirloom Life Gardener, by Jere and Emilee Gettle; and Small-Plot, High-Yield Gardening, by Sal Gilbertie and Larry Sheehan. We also have container-gardening books, and lots of books about how to grow flowers and shrubs.

Reusing old materials that you would otherwise toss out is another fun way to celebrate Earth Day. Today, these recycled crafts are becoming more and more popular—bags sewn from rice sacks, purses woven from chip bags, and bracelets strewn together from old candy wrappers are just some of the items that boutiques sell. To make your own recycled crafts, try Earth Friendly Crafts by Kathy Ross, or Green Crafts for Children, by Emma Hardy.

Just being reminded of the splendor of the natural world is another great way to celebrate Earth Day; it's that wonder, after all, that makes us want to make changes in support of the earth. So when you stop by the library this week, you might check out a book of breathtaking photos from our oversized collection, or perhaps the BBC series Planet Earth. Also, while you're in the library, you can sign up for Gardening Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle, which will be held on May 30, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. and will teach participants about how to garden and stretch at the same time.

Happy reading!

Volunteers at the library

Next week marks our annual volunteer party, when people fill the meeting room to celebrate the enormous gift of service that they give each year. As always, this year's party will take place during National Volunteer Week, a week that is set aside not only to honor those who volunteer, but also to inspire others to join in.

Here at the Gilford Library, nearly every week one patron or another remarks that our library is incredible. And it is—not only is the collection expansive, but so are the resources and clubs. Also, the space is inviting, and offers places for kids, teens, and adults to be alone or to work together in groups. None of this would be possible without the work of our 60 or so volunteers.

Last year alone, roughly 5,000 volunteer hours were logged at the library. That means that more than two full years of full-time employment were donated. Some volunteers show up just once a year, some every week, and a few show up every single day. On average, the library sees about 30 different volunteers each week.

“I started volunteering when my kids were at preschool,” says Mike Marshall, who runs the weekly Check-Out-An-Expert program. “I didn't want to just go home, and I love the library, so I thought I'd give some time back.” Mike says that though the library is now an integral part of his life, it wasn't always that way. “It happened when I met my wife,” he says. “She's an avid reader, so I went to the library with her.” Back in those days, he wandered around the stacks, got a library card, and started reading. “And I realized that a library isn't just about reading—it's a great resource for the community.”

As with every volunteer, before he began work he had to sit down with librarian and volunteer coordinator Betty Tidd to discuss his interests. In that conversation, his knowledge of computers and electronics came up.

“Betty thought that was an area where the library needed help,” Mike says. After that, it didn't take long for the Check-Out-An-Expert program to begin. At first, his idea was to teach people that they could look up books on the computer's card catalog, rather than asking the circulation desk. “That idea quickly morphed into general computer questions,” Mike says. Today, he teaches people how to download audio and digital books, how to use their kindles, how to use email or Word, or simply how to operate a computer. “I like the expressions on their faces when they get it,” Mike says. “It's a sense of freedom for them.”

While Mike isn't the only volunteer to begin a program, he's certainly not the norm. More often, volunteers work behind the scenes to keep the library running. Blandine Shallow is one of these indispensible volunteers. She moved to Gilford from the north after retirement, and wanted to get involved in the community. “I finally had time to volunteer,” she says, and since she loves reading, and had worked at a library as a teenager, she thought it was a great place to begin.

Blandine donates roughly 4 hours each week to the library. Her jobs include covering new books and logging donations into the library system. About her time spent at the library, she says, “I like meeting all the people, and I love looking at all the new books!” She remarks that being in the library gives her a chance to talk to others about what they've read, and this, she says, “always opens up new worlds to me.”

This year, National Volunteer Week will be observed from April 15 through April 21. If you've ever thought of volunteering, now is the time to do it. It's fun, it's a great way to become a part of the community, and it's also a great thing to do for the community!

National Library Week

For nearly half a century, every year in April libraries across the country have celebrated National Library Week. This year, the theme for the celebration is You Belong @ Your Library—a theme that holds more truth than it might seem at first glance. After all, it is libraries that have always been the “great equalizer of knowledge,” welcoming all people, and offering access to information no matter a person's class, race, gender, or age. As for the Gilford Library, I'm sure that users will agree that being involved in the library not only provides endless knowledge and entertainment, but it also provides another necessity: community.

When I first moved to Gilford, I wandered into the library with the hopes of volunteering. Betty Tidd, librarian and the volunteer coordinator, was thrilled to have me. Within a few months, I was not only covering books but—because Betty took the time to get to know me and learn about my skills—I was also leading writing workshops. Now, thanks entirely to the library, I have gotten to know the people of Gilford, and have come to feel at home here.

I know I'm not alone in this experience; in the two years that I've been a part of the Gilford Library community, I've met countless people of all ages who come to the library not only for books and media but for a place to meet and talk with others, to learn new skills, and just to spend time in a space that feels good and welcoming. So if you've wondered about the library, or about finding a place in your community, I'd encourage you to take the National Library Week's theme to heart, for you do indeed belong at your library.

For our National Library Week, we'll celebrate with a program for each age group. For adults, we'll offer a scrapbooking workshop, Creating Memories That Last, taught by Liz Ellington of Creative Memories. This program will be held on Tuesday, April 10, and Liz will teach scrapbooking techniques for anyone from beginner to expert.

For teens, we'll run an origami workshop, which offers kids grades 5 and up a chance to create art, have fun, and really focus all at the same time. As for the children, once again we'll have a different guest and vehicle each day of the week, including a fire truck, a school bus, a street sweeper, and a police car. Children will get a chance to explore the vehicles, listen to a story from the drivers, and collect a trading card for the week.

For more information about these programs, just call, stop by, or check out our website. Also, remember that in addition to our National Library Week programs, we also have ongoing groups such as Mahjong, the KnitWits, Write Now Writers' Group, the Clickers Photography Club, and the book discussion group. Everyone is welcome to stop by the library, see what's going on, and become a part of the community!

Notes from the library

Emery Swanson, who leads the Gilford Clickers club, says that his view of photography changed when he took his pictures to a craft fair. “At first, it was just nice to see that people liked what I did. But then I remember seeing people's faces just light up because the picture reminded them of something in their life. The pictures put a smile on their faces,” he says. That, to Emery, is why photography is important.

Of course, photography is also a great way to document a life, and offer future generations a window into the past. So this year, the Gilford Public Library is bringing the Scenes of Gilford calendar contest back as a way to raise funds for library programs and create a piece of art that is both useful and lasting. The contest deadline is June 2; twelve winning photographs will be chosen; and the 2013 calendars will be on sale at Old Home Day in August.

“When I started taking pictures, I started seeing things, looking around. I finally slowed down in my life,” says Emery, who is a great inspiration for anyone who has ever thought of taking up photography. Emery himself didn't begin taking pictures until well into adulthood. When the Gilford Clickers formed, he decided to give it a shot for “something to do.” He just loved the group, and within a few months he had taken the role of president. Today he describes himself as a self-taught photographer who has learned from books, the Internet, and fellow photographers.

So no matter your level of experience, if you're interested in the photography contest then you are certainly encouraged to join. And if you'd like a little feedback and direction on your pictures before you turn them in, the Gilford Clickers club is a great place to go; the group meets once a month and always welcomes new members.

“We very gently critique each other's work,” Emery says. It's a very

beneficial process—members bring photos in to share a new technique, or to ask for guidance about how to make a picture stronger. Each meeting, group members are given a photo assignment, and the following meeting they return with the results. Assignments range from pictures of winter activities to pictures of birds to pictures that make use of a lighting technique. The group has a wide range of attendees, some of whom walked in without ever using a camera before and others who had been taking pictures for years. “It's great fun,” Emery says. “Anyone is welcome.”

As for advice on photos for the contest, Emery encourages people to send in pictures that mean something to them. “You might not think it means something to another person, but if it's beautiful to you then you can share that beauty.” He also suggests taking pictures that people don't see every day, or don't notice. But most of all, he says, “take the pictures that speak to you.”

For more information about the Scenes of Gilford calendar contest, or the Gilford Clickers, just stop by the library or check out our website. Contest entries aren't due until June 2, but spring is a great time to take pictures!

Notes from the library

Sometimes I’ll pick up a book and suspect from the very first page that it won’t be one I’ll like—maybe I’m not in the mood for that kind of violence, or perhaps the writing strikes me as somehow false. Whatever the case may be, chances are I’ll just put that book down and pick up another. Unless it’s for a book discussion group—then I’m compelled to keep reading. And annoying as that can sometimes be, it’s also what I like about the groups. In them I’m forced (or at least I force myself) to read something outside of my usual interests, and thus see a different perspective.

That’s not to say that the results are always good. In the last year, there have been three books in the library’s book discussion group that I suspected I wouldn’t like; I ended up not liking two of them. But I’m still glad I read them. If nothing else was gained out of the experience, I at least came to see and respect why other readers in the group loved those books.

This month, the library will discuss Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich. It’s one of those ones that many people might want to put down right away, for the first page exhibits a scene of terrifying violence. But if you turn the page, you’ll see that it’s quite a different book than the opening suggests. And this book was chosen for the very purpose of opening our eyes to a different perspective.

As so many of her novels do, Plague of Doves takes place on the North Dakota Ojibwe reservation and in the small white community of Pluto that sits just at the western edge of that reservation. At the book’s center is a horrific act of racism that haunts the reservation and the nearby white community. Told in the tradition of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, wherein one story is narrated through the eyes of many different characters, Plague of Doves examines the power history has on our present day struggles, and the complex relationships of full and mixed blood Native Americans and white European American culture. As with all of Erdrich’s work, this novel will open our eyes to a place in our country that is so very different from our small New Hampshire town, and a place that otherwise we would likely never get a glimpse inside of.

Erdrich herself grew up on a reservation in North Dakota, and her parents worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs there. Except for one trip to Tennessee, she says she never left North Dakota until “my mother found me a place to go.” That was the year that Dartmouth College decided to admit women and to start a Native American program. Erdrich was accepted, and flew to New Hampshire that fall. That was in 1972; it wasn’t until 1984 that her first novel, Love Medicine, was published. Since that time, she’s written a total of 13 novels, in addition to collections of poetry, short stories, and children’s books. Her work has won the National Book Critics Circle Award and been nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Today she lives in Minneapolis, where she owns and operates an independent bookstore, Birchbark Books.

In its review of Plague of Doves, the New York Times remarks that Erdrich writes “with sympathy, humor and the unsentimental ardor of a writer who sees that the tragedy and comedy in her people’s lives are ineluctably commingled.” If you’d like to read and discuss this thought-provoking novel, stop by the library to pick up a copy. The discussions will take place at 12:30 and 6:30 on Thursday, March 29^th.

Women's History Month

Recently my father, who is a very literary person, mentioned that he had never read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights or anything else by either Bronte sister, and he went on to say that when he was in school, none of the required texts were by women. To modern ears, this can seem shocking, but in my experience it's still not so far from the truth; I was an avid reader in high school, and I remember very clearly arriving at college and realizing that I could not think of one single woman writer whom I had studied in school. And the writers were certainly out there—so why the discrepancy?

I think of our country as one of freedom—I can wear what I want, go where I please, and stand up for what I believe in. That's why I'm always so stunned to be reminded of the facts: it wasn't until 1920 that the 19^th amendment—granting women the right to vote—was passed; and it wasn't until 1963 that the Equal Pay Act was passed. That means that my grandmother was born into a world where women could not vote, and all of her children were born before women were required by law to earn equal pay for equal work.

Perhaps the relative recentness of women's rights in our country can help to shed light on why—or at least how—books by women have so often been overlooked, and thought of as “woman's books” rather than simply as books. But the history of women in literature is fascinating, and so very tied to culture. It wasn't until the end of the 17^th century that a woman first made money writing—before that, as Virginia Woolf points out in A Room of One's Own, it was seen as frivolous for a woman to write, and it was a mark of a distracted mind; “no woman of sense and modesty could write books.” However, as the 18^th century approached, one middle-class woman, Aphra Behn, was “forced by the death of her husband and some unfortunate adventures of her own to make her living by her wits.” She worked hard, and made enough to live on, and she proved that “money could be made by writing at the sacrifice, perhaps, of certain agreeable qualities; and so by degrees writing became not merely a sign of folly and a distracted mind, but was of practical importance.” After that, hundreds of women began to make some pocket change through the trade of writing.

It was only after Aphra Behn wrote that our earliest women novelists appeared: Jane Austen, George Elliot, Charlotte Bronte, and Emily Bronte. Three of them used a male penname. All of them wrote in the midst of common sitting rooms where they “never had a half-hour … to call their own.” The fact that the novels of these women should even be written, much less be such incredible stories that still endure, is something remarkable, and worth celebrating.

This month is Women's History Month, and in celebration of that, stop by the library and check out a book by a woman. It could just offer you with a different voice or perspective. Happy reading!

Intro to Art Journaling

A couple summers ago, artist and frequent library-goer Emily Martina was asked to help out with Summer Reading at her local library by offering some sort of art program to teens. She chose art journaling—a “fun, accessible, exploratory” kind of art that uses a variety of mediums to create pages of a journal. “They loved it,” Emily says, “and it was so exciting to share this process with teens.”

A few months later, Emily offered the same program to adults, “and it was even more exciting,” she says. That's because adults, as Emily reminds us, often “lose that excitement of creating” to work or family needs or otherwise busy schedules. At the workshops, it was “so, so fun to see adults re-spark that creativity in themselves.” Since that first adult workshop that she offered, Emily has offered a number of them at public libraries around the state, and on Tuesday, March 13, she will bring the program to the Gilford Public Library.

If you're a scrap-booker, art journaling might sound familiar to you. “There's a lot of overlap,” Emily says. “Art journaling is really a branch of scrap-booking, one that uses more mediums.” Since she's always loved mixed-media art, it was a natural fit for her, and after she heard about it she did some research at the library and gave it a shot. She hasn't stopped since.

“There are a lot of different ways to describe art journaling,” Emily says. “I see and teach it as a book that you dedicate to exploring and creating by using a lot of different mediums and no worries.” These different mediums include pattered paper, ink, rubber stamps, paint, stencils, mod podge, collage, and more. She stresses that art journaling is about “getting back to that childlike curiosity of creating.” Because of that (and though her art journals certainly are striking pieces) Emily looks at this art form as a “great way to play” rather than a serious project.

As for those “more serious” projects, Emily is a student at the Maine College of Art, and by this spring she will have earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts. Her focus is on textile-based printmaking, and she sells a lot of this work, as well as cards and other paper crafts, at various craft fairs. In addition, Emily works for several design teams that make rubber stamps.

At the Gilford Public Library workshop, Emily will teach participants to use the various mediums, and she'll also teach the technique of image transfer. To inspire and guide participants with their projects, she'll offer a list of prompts. Examples include “What inspires me?” and “Why should I make the time and space to create?” By the end of the workshop, participants will have completed one or two pages of a journal.

The Art Journaling Workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 13, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library and is free, but sign up is required; a list of necessary materials will be provided upon sign up. In addition, participants must be Gilford Public Library cardholders. If you're interested, be sure to sign up early, as the workshop is limited to 20 people.

Gold Party at the Library

If you have a jewelry box, chances are you have a fair amount of gold and silver that you don't ever put on. When I look through my jewelry box, there's certainly pieces that I probably won't ever wear but that I will keep, because they tell an otherwise forgotten story of our family. But the majority of what's in there is jewelry that I don't feel much attachment to. That's largely the sort of jewelry that Cindy Moran, Gold Specialist, sees at her her Parties of Gold, where people come together with their unwanted gold to trade for an immediate check. Cindy will be at the Gilford Public Library this Saturday, March 3, for a Party of Gold that will give 15% of its proceeds to the Friends of the Gilford Library.

In the last few years, these Parties of Gold have been gaining momentum, and have been featured on Chronicle and in the Wall Street Journal, as well as a number of other publications. In part, that's because of the recession. “I was laid off about a year ago … I'm a single mom … I needed to find a way to keep the cash flowing,” says one Party of Gold rep. That's the case for many of the sellers, too. They use the money they receive to pay heating bills and make mortgage payments, to buy Christmas gifts, or to just have some extra cash.

It's not just jewelry without sentimental value that people bring to these parties, either. Many people arrive with mixed feelings about letting go of that piece that's been sitting in their jewelry box for years. But as one rep says, that sentimental value is “gone after they see the amount of the check!” She says that people are surprised, over and over again, to find out how much their gold is worth. They come in not thinking they have much, but leave just shocked by the amount they've received. The average take-home check, according to the Chronicle, is between $500 and $700 dollars.

For the Gilford Public Library, that can add up to an excellent fundraiser, which is increasingly important as more and more people in our community make use of the services the library has to offer. The money earned at the Party of Gold will support the annual Summer Reading Program, along with monthly classes and special programs, in addition to various library supplies.

So take a look in your jewelry box—there might just be some things you'd like to sell. Gold and sterling silver will be accepted at the party, and you just need to bring a black and white copy of your driver's license in order to make a sale. Also, if you can't attend the party, you can still send your jewelry along—just call the library for more details about how to do this. The Party of Gold will take place this Saturday, March 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Notes from the library

“I started birding 50 years ago,” says Gilford resident and bird watching expert Mike Coskren. “My brother pointed out a Baltimore oriole when I was 11 years old, and I've been hooked ever since.” And winter, it turns out, is a great time for birding—even if you can't walk outside. For it's in winter that birds need food, water, and shelter the most, so if you put a feeder out it won't be long until birds begin to keep regular hours just outside your window.

“Usually nothing appears until the sun comes up, and then they all come at once,” says Coskren of the birds at his feeder. “They come for breakfast, and then they come back at noon, and then they come for dinner just before the sun goes down.” From his home, Coskren can look out with binoculars and his bird book and identify all the visitors he gets in winter.

Right now in Gilford, the list of birds you can see is long: light-colored juncos; black-cap chickadees; cardinals; downy woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers; certain winter finches, such as red polls and pine siskin, which come down from Canada; and, when there's still open water, ducks and bald eagles. There are also American gold finches, which, as Coskren points out, are brilliant yellow in summer, and are often mistakenly thought to head South for the winter. But they're still here—they've just lost their yellow feathers and turned a dull brown.

“In the last 15 to 20 years, there's also been an increase in the red-bellied woodpeckers,” Coskren points out. “They're coming up from the South. We don't know if it's global warming or just that so many people are feeding them, but it's like the cardinal—20 years ago, if you said you saw a cardinal, people would flock to the place. Now they're common.”

Canadian robins are one more bird you can see in winter, for while our robins go farther South, the ones from Canada come here. “You can tell they're the Canadian robins because they're paler than the spring ones—in the spring they're brilliant red. In the winter the robins are washed out and they travel in flocks,” says Coskren.

Starting to birdwatch is easy, says Coskren, but if you go out and buy the cheapest equipment possible you won't have much luck. Sturdy plastic tube feeders are what he recommends, and it's best to find one with a cage around it; otherwise the squirrels will promptly ruin it. “And don't buy the cheapest food either—they'll just throw it on the ground.”

In fact, you can choose your food according to the sort of bird you hope to see. If it's just an all-around feeder you want, Coskren recommends black oil sunflower seed, striped sunflower seed, a little safflower seed, and a little millet thrown in. If it's little birds you'd like to see, like finches, pine siskins, and red polls, they love nyjer seed, which is also known as thistle seed. And for the woodpeckers, there's suet—that can be purchased cheaply at the grocery store.

Birdwatching isn't just a fun activity either; it's also one that's important for scientists. That's why each year the Audubon Society encourages all birdwatchers to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. This year marks the 15^th annual count, and it will be held from February 17-20. “It's a great way to get a picture of what's around, what's increasing, and what's decreasing in our country,” says Coskren. So if you want something to carry you through the rest of winter, you might try birdwatching. The library has a great collection of bird books, so just stop by, check one out, and get watching!

Notes from the library

By this point in winter, it's good to have something to keep you occupied; otherwise, with so much longing for sunshine and warmth, people turn into hermits and get cranky. A good friend of mine has recently decided to learn to make macaroons. Another is spending the remainder of the winter reading Swedish crime novels. I needed something similar to do, and since it's February, I figured I could be festive: read about love.

Unfortunately, books about love are frequently misconceived as books reserved only for women. But as I looked over my bookshelf, it was difficult to find a book that wasn't about love. So many of the classics—Madame Bovary, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, even Lolita (terrifying though it may be) all explore love. And the truth is, stories haven't changed that much. Sure, their form and narration has changed, but the fact that they ultimately explore the human condition remains. And what's more central to that than love?

Published in 2005 and currently back on the bestseller list (because its movie movie version is currently in the theaters) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer explores one of the most enduring and potentially complicated sorts of love we experience: the love we feel for our fathers. The novel follows nine-year-old Oskar Schell on his journey through NYC as he tries to discover more about his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11^th. With pictures mixed in with the text, the book is truly an experience, and reading it and then going to see the movie is a great way to pass a few winter days!

Another current bestseller, Paula McLain's The Paris Wife, is a historical novel that explores the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley. Narrated by Hadley herself, the novel takes us to the 1920s, and begins in that first moment when she met the man who would change her life so drastically. McLain makes no effort to romanticize love; rather, she digs in to the challenges that Hadley faces as she tries to support the man she loves, keep up with their fast-paced lifestyle, and hold on to her sense of self. It's a serious, heartbreaking book about love, and following it with a biography about Hemingway himself makes it an even more fascinating read.

A few summers ago, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society became a huge hit in the Lakes Region, and critics say that if you liked that book, you'll love Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes. Oscillating between 1960 and 2003, this novel explores the life of Jennifer Stirling, who wakes up in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there or even who she is. Soon, however, she discovers a love letter, written to her, asking her to leave her husband. She doesn't know who wrote it. It's a page-turner of a love story that offers some history, too.

A few other love-story favorites of mine include Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera (last February, the book group had a lively time with this one!); and Julie Orringer's The Invisible Bridge. But how can we talk about novels of love without mentioning Jane Austen? To read her books is to realize that she invented the romantic comedy. When I first read Pride and Prejudice I found myself gasping aloud with shock—I was that involved. And if you're looking for something to carry you through February, reading Jane Austen and then checking out the BBC TV versions (also available at the library) is great fun. Happy reading!

Reading...

My husband's grandmother lived a life in books, and by the time I met her, she had read virtually every book I could think of. Though literary fiction was her favorite, she read all sorts—nonfiction, mysteries, thrillers … really, anything that came her way. That meant that retirement, for her, offered endless hours to do what she loved best. And since none of her family lived in the same state she did, reading also offered welcome company. But when she reached her late 80s, her vision started to go. Briefly she worried what the rest of her life would look like—because if she couldn't read, what was she supposed to do with her time? Thankfully, a friend introduced her to large print books. This seemingly small change—a section of the library that so many of us skip right over—made the rest of her life livable.

February is National Low Vision Awareness Month, and while a library might seem like an unlikely candidate to highlight such a month, it turns out that publishers and libraries across the country have worked hard to make reading accessible to those with failing vision.

It was in 1990 that large print books first became popular. At that time, they were being published, but in small numbers, and they were sold only to libraries. But in 1990 Random House decided to do a large print test-run of one of its bestsellers, Robert Fulghum's ''It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It.'' The company was trying to decide whether or not to join in in publishing large print books. They printed 10,000 copies of the book; all but 700 were bought by bookstores. Since that time, Random House has become one of the leading producers of large print books.

Other companies quickly followed suit, and today thousands of large print titles are available. According to the NY Times, part of the reason the demand for these books rose in the 90s is that the Baby Boomers were getting older, which meant the number of visually impaired people in our country was on the rise. Today, more than 14 million people in the US are visually impaired, “the overwhelming majority of whom can read large print books.”

Another excellent resource for those with impaired vision is the audio book, which has become increasingly popular in the last decade, in part due to the ease of technology. These books offer a reader the chance to listen to a story while doing something else—driving, walking the dog, knitting—but they also offer those who have difficultly with the written word the chance to experience books. Right now the library has hundreds of books on CD, most of which are unabridged.

E-readers, like the Kindle and the Nook, also offer a great opportunity for the visually impaired, for the text size is adjustable. Currently, there are thousands of titles that are available for free download at the library, and if you want to download but don't know how, free help is available at our weekly Check Out An Expert program.

Finally, the NH State Library offers an excellent program, Talking Book Services, to “New Hampshire residents who are physically unable to see, handle or process printed material comfortably.” The program delivers audio books and magazines, and the tools on which to play them, to the homes of members. Currently they serve over 2,000 people, and lend over 90,000 books a year.

“There's a lot of support available,” says Gilford Library director Katherine Dormody. “That's because it's so important that those who are afflicted with this can still read.” If you'd like more information about any of these resources or services, just stop by or contact the library!

A Winter Open House

A few years ago, parents Tom and Mary LeMieux looked around and realized that their house was filled with instruments, and that all their children were becoming musicians. The LeMieuxs are a home-schooling family, so it occurred to Tom that they could invite other home-schooled musician kids over weekly, and in that way form something of a school band. That worked for a couple weeks, but the only steady attendees were the LeMieuxs themselves. Thus the family took it upon themselves to form their own band; today that band is called Kid Jazz. They play shows throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and on Saturday, January 28^th, they'll play a free show at the Gilford Public Library's annual Open House.

Currently, the band members include the mother, Mary, as an occasional singer; the father, Tom, as the lead singer and guitarist; 17-year-old Michael, on the clarinet; 15-year-old Jacob, on the drums; and 12-year-old Adam, on the bass. Also in the family are 8-year-old Olivia and 3-year-old Grant, whom, their mother says, are currently groupies but will soon be members.

“We decided to play swing jazz because we all love it,” says Mary, “and also because we looked at the instruments that the kids play and knew that made the most sense.” Their songs include classics from greats like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw, along with a few originals.

Of how the family came to be so musical, Mary says that she and her husband both grew up surrounded by music; her parents ran the folk music group at their church, and his father played the tuba in a dixieland band. Now, as she looks at her children, she is just thrilled with their talent. In addition to jazz, Michael also plays classical clarinet, and he's “really quite good, really incredible,” and has won a few awards for his abilities. Jacob took a few years of lessons on the drums but eventually decided to teach himself jazz, and now his playing is “like clockwork.” As for Adam, his father taught him to play the bass, and he has that remarkable gift of being able to play by ear. “And Olivia will start piano next week!” says Mary.

In the two years that the band has been playing together as Kid Jazz, they've travelled to retirement homes, libraries, coffee shops, and even the Fox Run Mall at Christmas time. For the Gilford Library's Open House, Kid Jazz will play one set from 10:30 to 11:30 and another from 12:30 to 1:30. Refreshments will be provided, and dancing is encouraged, so stop by, see what's new at the library, and watch the show!

Notes on hobbies

Apparently, someone has recently designated January as National Hobby Month. There's still not too much information out there on where this came from or what the idea behind it is, and about the designation, my first thought was, Why? But then, as I began talking to people about their hobbies, I figured, Why not? For life is better, it seems, when we have something to do.

This week I spoke with a man who ties flies; two women who knit; a man who writes poems; a woman who makes mittens and headbands and other wearables out of old, shrunken sweaters; a couple that writes, plays, and records strange, eerie songs; and a woman who sews stuffed animals.

“It's satisfying,” said the fly-tyer, “to do something that has nothing to do with the rest of my life.” He said that he typically ties between two to four flies a week, though sometimes he lapses and goes a stretch without making any. “But it's good to keep up with it. I like to make something so small and precise out of these big materials, and for some reason I like to get really good at something that seems somewhat unnecessary.”

The other people I talked to had very similar things to say. None are professionals; for all of them, these hobbies are just something different to do. They offer a way to use a different skill than those the duties of their life typically demand, and though all of the projects are small, personal pursuits, they prove to be remarkably satisfying, no matter the end product.

“My stuffed animals are terrible,” said the young woman who has been sewing them for about three years. “People thought my dog was a unicorn.” But she continues to make them, and give them away, and people continue to love them. More important, the process is fulfilling to her. It's satisfying, after all, to create.

Right now it's cold out, and the ground is covered, and unless you're a skier or snowshoer, you likely feel cooped up inside. From what I gather, that's part of why the people who made National Hobby Month chose January. It's a good time to begin something, but it's also a time when people seem to need to begin something. And what better place to begin than the library? Fix your car, trace your ancestors, fold origami, run a marathon, make wallets out of duct-tape, knit or crochet or sew, build a terrarium—you'll find free instructions for nearly every hobby out there, some that you didn't even know existed. And if you'd rather start a hobby with other people, that's just what our clubs and special programs are for. There's photography, writing, knitting, mahjong, rug-hooking, book discussions, and much more. New members at the library and in the clubs are always welcome, so stop by and see what's going on!

Family History Program with Marianne Marcussen

Back in 1999, Marianne Marcussen received a phone call from a distant cousin whom she had never before met. This cousin was doing some genealogical research, and needed information on Marcussen's branch of the family. She agreed to look into things—beginning with notebooks, ancestor charts, and family group sheets that her father and grandmother had kept—and thus began a search that would become a lifelong hobby. On Saturday, January 21, Marcussen will be at the Gilford Public Library to lead a genealogy workshop, Using Ancestry.com to Research Family History.

“Genealogy is great for the past, present, and future,” says Marcussen, who points out that the search for ancestors works on three levels. First, perhaps the most obvious, is that it provides us with a link to the past. As we find out more about our family, we find out more about who we are and where we come from. Next, it's a great hobby for the present. It costs little to no money to get involved in, and it can be an exhilarating way to spend time. Finally, Marcussen points out that it's great for the future. And not just for the future of your own family—as she's discovered time and time again, tracking down and recording this sort of information is important for researchers, too.

Currently, Marcussen can trace most branches of her family back to about 1600. As for the most exciting discovery she's made in her research? “I found out that my great-great grandfather had a sister that no one knew about—as far as I know—for at least three generations back.” Once she encountered a piece of information that suggested this, she spent about a year trying to prove it. “The story was that my great-great grandfather came from England with his widowed mother when he was about ten. That was it. Come to find out, he had a younger sister!” As she researched this mystery, Marcussen traveled to a number of different states and tracked down several distant relatives. This, she says, was the most satisfying search so far in her ancestral journey.

As for the cousin who initially set her on the genealogical path, “We've now met a few times. We had a common ancestor in Kentucky, and we went there, went to the old church and cemetery, and we did some research there together.” This research—the kind that requires you to leave the comfort of your chair, is part of what Marcussen will be talking about at the library. “There's a misconception that it's all available on the Internet. It's not, and maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it all will ever be.” What Marcussen hopes to teach people is how to use Ancestry.com effectively, and what sort of information is going to require you to look elsewhere.

The program will run like a workshop, with Marcussen moving around the room helping participants in their specific searches. It's the sort of thing she used to —prior to teaching genealogy courses, for nearly six years she also worked as a genealogist at a library, helping people one-on-one as they searched for family members. For the January 21 course, Marcussen asks that all participants come with a specific question, or a specific search that has stumped them.

The program will be held on Saturday, January 21, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. All who have at least some familiarity with searching on the computer are welcome to join. The cost is $10, and participants who own a laptop computer are asked to bring it along. Just call or stop by the library to sign up!

Quilting with Pam Horvath

In 1993, author and historian Jacqueline Tobin met African American quilter Ozella Williams, and this woman began to tell her about the various ways in which quilting patterns were used to guide slaves in their escape along the Underground Railroad. There were ten patterns in this secret language, and once sewn these quilts were hung out on clotheslines or fences to signal various messages. The Monkey Wrench pattern, for instance, told slaves that escape was coming soon, and it was time to collect tools for their journey. Other patterns indicated distance, direction, and God’s prayers.

“Quilts are such a comfort art, and the fact that they were used in this way just reinforces that,” says longtime quilter and Gilford resident Pam Horvath, who will teach a 4-week quilting course at the library beginning on January 27. “That quilts were used to help people find a home, find a place where they could be accepted and free, that is truly symbolic.” Pam points out that in addition to guiding slaves to freedom, quilts can offer a real, palpable look at our ancestors’ lives, they can commemorate the death of loved ones, and, of course, they can keep us warm for ages.

As for why she quilts, Pam says that it’s astonishing to take a piece of fabric, “something that has a life, and then cut it up and put it back together in a new, beautiful way.” She first began sewing as a little girl, when she received a Singer Easy Sew as a gift, and she’s been sewing ever since. In her numerous years as a quilter, she’s made at least a couple dozen quilts herself, and just this year has “finally” kept one for herself—all the rest have been given as gifts. An artist who enjoys traditional work, Pam is particularly drawn to quilting because it offers the chance to use her own creativity in an age-old form that also draws upon her attraction to a meticulous, symmetrical aesthetic. And, she loves that it’s a practical art. “I’ve given a lot of quilts,” she says. “And I hope that they’re all used.”

In the library’s quilting class, Pam will teach a nine-patch block quilt, which is a great beginner design that will make a small, table-sized quilt. The course will take place at 9:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. from Friday, January 27 to Friday, February 17. By the end of the course, participants will have a completed quilt to take home, along with the skills to get started on another. Sewing machines are required for the class—though it’s fine if you’ve never even taken your machine out of the box before!—and there will be an optional field trip to a quilting store in the first week of the course. Sign up is required, along with a $25 donation to the Gilford Public Library.

Notes from the library

January gets its name from the Roman god Janus, a two-faced figure who looks both forward and back and is therefore thought of during periods of transition. It's no surprise, then, that as one year closes and the next opens, we look back and, based on what we see, we make a resolution to carry us forward.

Of all the millions of resolutions that have been made, those of Jonathan Edwards are perhaps the most enduring. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edwards is “widely acknowledged to be America's most important and original philosophical theologian.” Born in Connecticut in 1703 to a Puritan evangelical family, Edwards went on to write, study, and preach his religion and philosophy. Also, as a young man he began to compile what became a list of 70 resolutions to guide his life. Listed below are a few of his famous resolutions—all of which could easily be applicable to our own lives—along with some book suggestions from our library to help achieve that resolution.

Early on in the list is: “Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” This resolution works in two parts—the first, be mindful, don't waste time. Andrew Weil's new book, Spontaneous Happiness, might be a good choice for this sort of resolution, for it reminds us that if we're waiting for happiness to drop down upon us, we're wasting time; happiness, according to Weil, comes from within. The second part of the resolution—improve our time in the most profitable way possible—means, I think, to do what we mean to do. Memoirs and biographies are always a great inspiration on this front, and one recent one is Colin Thubron's To a Mountain in Tibet, in which he leaves his home in the wake of his mother's death to journey up a mountain believed to be sacred by one-fifth of the world's population. Another inspiring story to remind us to live the lives we mean to live is Alison Thompson's The Third Wave, which explores her time as a volunteer in Sri Lanka after a major tsunami.

To not waste time is certainly an incredible goal, but it seems that improving our physical health—exercising, eating less sugar, quitting smoking—is a more common resolution. Edwards' list contains a number of these, among them, “Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live,” and “Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.” The library owns many books to help with this sort of goal. One new, popular book that promises to get you in shape fast is Making the Cut, written by The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels. As for food and drink, there's an entire section of cookbooks devoted to healthy food. A recent one is Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi, written by chef, restaurant owner, and columnist Yotam Ottolenghi, who has been named one of the most exciting new talents in the cooking world. The book is filled with healthy, delicious, and creative vegetarian recipes like herb-stuffed tomatoes, sweet winter slaw, and saffron cauliflower.

Among Edwards's other resolutions are “Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge,” “Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone,” and, “Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better.” His full list is available online; it's fun and helpful to look over while choosing a personal resolution. But a simple resolution to read more is always a good one, too!

Notes from the library

This week the top three NY Times fiction bestsellers are fixtures on the list: James Patterson, Sue Grafton, and Stephen King. These three writers are among the most prolific in the world. Patterson, for example, published an astonishing ten books in 2011 alone. So what's going on behind the scenes? How do these writers work?

According to NPR's Writer's Almanac, it's estimated that one out of every 17 hardcover books sold in the US is written by Patterson. A thriller writer who is the best-selling novelist in the world, Patterson makes no secret of the fact that his books are co-written. According to an interview with The Telegraph, Patterson writes an outline of roughly 30 pages, and then passes it on to the co-author, who drafts the manuscript. As for his fast-paced writing style, Patterson says he discovered it when he wrote a “barebones template for the plot” of an early novel. He had intended to go through the draft and lengthen it, but decided that he liked it the way it was. Since that time, that early draft has become the remarkably successful template for his work.

Sue Grafton is a mystery writer whose story is a little more typical—she writes her own books, after all. She's just released the 22^nd installment in her best-selling Alphabet Series, this one titled V is for Vengeance. As for why she writes murder mysteries, she claims that “during an ugly and protracted divorce … she would lie awake at night fantasizing about ways to kill her ex-husband.” But of course she would never do that, so she focused her energies on fiction instead. Grafton begins a book with a lot of research, plus character and plot development. This portion of the process can take her upwards of one year, after which she begins an actual draft. While working on a book, she keeps copious notes to help her through what she describes as “frustration, backtracking, false starts, and bad moods.”

Perhaps the most well-known name on the list, Stephen King is the man who moved horror “out of deserted castles” and into “small towns and fast food restaurants and libraries.” Of his first novel, Carrie, he says he “witnessed the cruelty of teenagers” and let that idea intersect with the possibility of physic powers. But it's not ghosts and monsters that really compel King; what drives him is “an intrusion” of the inexplicable—whether it be cancer, a prank phone call, or a vampire—on our otherwise ordinary lives. This, he says, is the place fear comes from. As for his process, King writes the first draft within about three months. After that he rewrites, focusing on storytelling techniques as he moves toward a final draft.

Since part of the fascination of reading is finding out how the story developed, there's a wealth of information and interviews available on most writers. Sue Grafton, for example, shares pages from her notebooks on her website, and Stephen King has written two books on craft. So if there's a writer or book you love, you might enjoy finding out about its backstory. And if you need help finding it, just stop by the library!

Notes from the library

For me, reading is an incredibly private pursuit. The characters take their places in my imagination and there they remain, untouched by the outside world. And once a book is through, it's not only the book I remember but my experience reading it: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on one solitary Thanksgiving in the mountains; Swamplandia! on the couch for hours while outside the snow relentlessly fell. Oftentimes, if it's a book I love, I develop a fierce attachment to it, and become nervous about the prospect of talking about it to another reader. What if that person didn't like the book? How could I accept that?

I think a lot of readers must have similar feelings, which is why book discussions can be difficult. Invariably, there are differing opinions in the group. Just one example from this year's discussions includes “That's the best book I've read all year!” alongside “That book was so sick and that author is a despicable human being!” Yet those two readers, along with about 25 others, have continued to read the books we ask them to read, and to show up and participate in a discussion. Why?

“Cookies!” says one devoted attendee. But she goes on to point out that book discussions remain the only place where she talks to people whose backgrounds, values, and ages are different than her own. This, of course, means that she is introduced to a different perspective—one that she never would have thought of before—on the book. Other readers point out that even if they don't like the book, the discussions usually make them appreciate the book. And, a discussion has a way of illuminating a story—making it at once clearer and more complex.

So if you like to read and are interested in expanding your views, don't be shy! Our next book discussions will take place on Thursday, December 8, with one in the afternoon and one in the evening. The book to be discussed is Jamie Ford's Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which explores the effects of Japanese internment camps during WWII. Happy reading!

fall Cooking...

In 1621, probably sometime in late September or early October, Plymouth Harbor governor William Bradford ordered four men to go out “fowling” for migrating birds. The Pilgrims had been in their settlement for nearly a year, and now it was time to “rejoice together” after they had “gathered the fruit” of their labors and endured—through much hardship—their first year in this country. Unexpectedly, roughly one hundred Pokanokets--showed up with five deer to add to the feast.

Today historians believe that the event was most likely held outdoors—as Pilgrim houses were too small to accommodate such a crowd—and that turkey might not have been eaten. Historians do know, however, that the Pokanoket guests brought five deer, and the English brought fowl. Other likely candidates on the first Thanksgiving table were pumpkin, corn, beans, and root vegetables, along with the “easy-to-gather local food” like clams, lobsters, cod, and leafy greens. There were no pies, and no cranberry sauce, and there weren't even forks yet—according to writer and historian Nathaniel Philbrick, these didn't arrive until the last part of the seventeenth century.

Now, 390 years after that first meal, Thanksgiving has transformed into a family affair and grand celebration of the food of fall, so if you're looking for a good addition to your Thanksgiving table, then you might check out some of the library's great new cookbooks.

Just released, Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible is what she calls her “proudest achievement so far.” It's a thick cookbook, with family recipes for all meals and seasons, and many of them are perfect for Thanksgiving. There's the intricate, like Pecan and Cream Cheese-stuffed Dates, and then there are the simple, stand-by recipes like Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Braised Greens. There's also an entire section dedicated to pies, cobblers, and crisps, so if you're looking for an inspiring all-around cookbook, this is a good one to try.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook, by Amy Traverso, is a beautiful new book that explores the history, flavors, and uses of all sorts of apples. The book includes stories from apple growers and cider makers around the country, and, of course, an array of recipes. Cider-Brined Turkey, Apple Squash Gratin, and Apple-Gingersnap Ice Cream are just a few of the recipes that would be perfect for the holiday.

If you want to try some of these new recipes are leery about your skills in the kitchen, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is the book to help you gain confidence. Written by Le Cordon Bleu graduate Kathleen Flinn, Kitchen Counter visits the homes of nine novice cooks to give cooking lessons that include knife technique and money-saving strategies. “Ibelieve in the power of home cooking and one of my life's missions is to help people find their way off the couch and into the kitchen,” says Flinn.

Of course, there's always those good old cookbooks to check out, too. Some

of our local favorites include The High Maples Farm Cookbook, Hometown Cooking in New England, and New Hampshire: From Farm to Kitchen. So if you're in the mood to try some new recipes, come browse our wide array of cookbooks!

Tales for Tails

Many of us know the comfort a pet can bring—company, laughter, and, sometimes, something that certainly feels like understanding. As Jane Goodall points out, “There is scientific evidence that proves, beyond doubt,” that a “friendly, gentle animal” can lower blood pressure, help a stroke victim to move semi-paralyzed limbs, decrease sickness, lengthen life, and help autistic children overcome various obstacles in communication and social interaction.

It's no surprise, then, that the presence of such an animal can also help people make great strides in their reading abilities. Here at the Gilford Library, we're lucky enough to have two therapy dogs visit weekly for Tales for Tails. Their job? To sit and listen to a story from a new or ‘reluctant' reader.

“The dogs aren't judgmental,” says Children's Librarian Jessie Tanner. “They're friendly, and not at all critical of the readers.” This, she says, encourages those who have trouble reading to practice, and even gets those who think they do not like to read to give it a try in order to be close to the dog.

According to doctor Aubrey H. Fine, a psychotherapist and professor at the California State Polytechnic University, the approach of animals in therapy has “a tremendous impact in teaching because it helps to change how we relate to other beings.” In reading, the calm dog abates the nervousness of a child, and the dog's friendly demeanor encourages the reader to go on.

Brady and Sam are the dogs that help readers here at the Gilford Library. Both dogs have earned their Canine Good Citizenship certification, and have gone through extensive training in order to become Tales for Tails dogs. Of Brady, owner Claire Hebert says, “I knew right away that he would be a therapy dog.” A Cockapoo with a bit of Shih Tzu mixed in, Brady is a small, quiet four-year-old dog who attends doggy day care three days a week to socialize with other dogs, and who comes to the library on the 2^nd and 4^th Thursday of every month.

Sam, who listens to stories on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays, is a Bernese Mountain Dog who weighs about 80 pounds. Historically, Sam's breed was meant to pull milk carts, and today many Bernese Mountain Dogs continue this pursuit, though the carts usually don't have milk on them anymore; Sam's pulling takes the form of skijoring. Her size shouldn't fool people though—she too is known for her quiet, gentle demeanor. “People just love her,” says owner Nancy Hoffman, who recalls an afternoon at Golden View Health Care Center, when Sam jumped up onto the bed to cheer up a patient suffering from MS. “It's the emotional support that this sort of therapy dog provides.” With reading, “scores go up as self confidence in reading rises.”

If you have a young, new, or reluctant reader in the family, Tales for Tails is an excellent way to offer fun and productive practice. The dogs are here every Thursday from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., and they're always eager to have a story read to them!

Notes from the library

No Plot? No Problem! That's a catchphrase of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which takes place every November and challenges its participants to write 50,000 words—roughly 175 pages—in just thirty days. Founded in 1999 by writer Chris Baty, the event had just 21 participants that first year, but by 2010 it had grown to an astonishing 200,000 participants from all over the world.

“Quantity, not quality,” is a phrase you'll find over and over again if you look into NaNoWriMo. For those of us who are accustomed to reading—and critiquing—novel after novel, this can seem like a troublesome endeavor; as a reader, quality does matter. So does plot. But what we as readers often forget is that novels are not born into the lovely form that we find them in. Novels—and perhaps every single first novel—have at least one (if not several) murky, messy, embarrassingly awful incarnations before they finally became those edifying books that we find on the shelves of the library.

But as a writer, those first drafts of a book can be the hardest to get down. Never mind finding the time—in those early days of becoming a writer, faith is hard to come by, too. When I first decided to put other ambitions aside in order to pursue fiction, I could not get beyond a paragraph; I was cursed with comparing what I wrote to what I had read and loved. Of course my own words did not measure up, so I would throw them away and try again. The process got me nowhere, but eventually, thankfully, I learned to do what these NaNoWriMos do—just write, page after page after terrible page. The method doesn't work for everyone, but it is the way most of my writer friends learned to write well.

“How can I know what I think until I see what I say?” asked novelist E.M. Forster. His words are just one argument for attempting to learn to write in this sprawling NaNoWriMo way; you can't cut and shape and grow your story until you get the story out. Another argument is just for practice—the more we write, the better we write. But perhaps one of the largest benefits of doing something like NaNoWriMo is that it forces you to turn off your inner critic, stop trying to sound good, and just get words on the page. After all, you can't write a novel unless you write some words to work with.

Many NaNoWriMo participants have gone on to publish novels, Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) and Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus) among them. In her acknowledgements, Morgenstern thanks her agent for believing in a manuscript that was “once a truly god-awful mess.” That book—after countless revisions—is currently # 6 on the NY Times Bestseller list, and it is a stunning read.

To join NaNoWriMo, you just need to visit their website, http://www.nanowrimo.org/. From there you'll be ushered into a community that offers writing tips, weekly pep talks from well-known authors, and the opportunity to connect with others in our own area who have signed up for the very same endeavor. Counting today, there are still 28 days left in the novel-writing challenge—so get writing!

Fall into a good book...

In fall the bursting colors of the trees make our corner of the world look like a storybook. Add to that the images of the dead that we line our porches and front steps with, and with a little imagination it really can seem like our streets suddenly belong to some other world. Traditions that celebrated the link between the living and the dead—and that later became known as Halloween—are said to date back at least 2,000 years, and by now it seems clear that at this time of year we are looking to be scared, or at least dazzled, by stories and images that call into question our daily reality. As always, reading is a good way to do that.

Slated as ‘horror' by some reviewers, ‘psychological thriller' by others, and ‘genre-defying' by still more, New England writer Chris Bohjalian's new book, The Night Strangers, is a terrifying ghost story that explores what happens when a cellar door in an old New Hampshire house is opened after years and years of being bolted shut. So if you're one who wants to be scared this season, this book will do the trick.

If magic is what you seek at this time of the year, Erin Morgenstern's bestselling debut The Night Circus is just the book. Dark, mysterious, and enchanting, this new novel takes place in the midst of a circus held only at night, and centers on a duel between two young magicians who have been trained since birth for the event. An instant success, already at # 5 on the bestseller list, this young author's debut is simply captivating.

Yet sometimes the scariest and most thrilling stories are those in which the events actually seem within our realm of possibility, and Deon Meyer's Trackers is such a book. Set in his native South Africa, this thriller follows the life of a retired bodyguard who soon gets drawn back in to the world of a missing-person investigation. Currently the #1 bestseller in South Africa, Meyer's work offers thrill and mystery page after page.

Of course, for many of us the real draw of the Halloween season is the fun it provides for children. Here at the library, all children are invited to put on a costume and join the annual Costume Party and Parade on Friday, October 28 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. The event will include activities led by Music with Mar, trick-or-treating, crafts, and a parade around the library. So no matter your age, be sure to stop by the library to celebrate the season!

Economics Club at the Library

“If you pay a mortgage, if you're considering going to college, then economics touches you every single day,” says library patron Barry Dame, who has recently formed an Economics Club at the Gilford Public Library. A devoted member of the library's Philosophy Club, which met weekly from January through August to discuss unanswerable questions such as the existence of altruism and the role of morality, Dame says that the Economics Club will continue in that same spirit.

“We're not interested in who's a Democrat and who's a Republican. I'm not going to talk about what's good and what's bad.” Instead, the club will discuss economic ideas. Sample topics include whether or not free markets are always stable, and if free trade always works to one's advantage. If those topics sound like they're beyond your understanding, don't fret—part of the club's mission is to introduce you to these concepts and their history.

With a professional background as both an economics instructor and an engineer, Dame brings a fascinating perspective to the club. “Economists develop theories and become enamored of them,” he says, but he points out that those theories do not always function in the real world. That's where Dame's engineering mind comes in—he likes to take these economic theories and examine them, trying to decipher what works and how to fix what doesn't. “You're not a computer,” he says earnestly. “What factors into your decision making cannot always be graphed.”

Again, if you have no background in economics, don't let that deter you; the group aims to follow in the footsteps of the Philosophy Club, whose members were among the most diverse of any club the library has seen. All who are interested in trying out something new are encouraged to join the Economics Club, which meets every Tuesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and promises to be a supportive, friendly environment.

Get Booked with Author Carole Anderson

“I’m not even a skier,” says writer and historian Carol Lee Anderson, who will be at the Gilford Public Library next Tuesday, October 18, to discuss her new book, Skiing on Gunstock: The Lakes Region’s Legacy of Excellence. “The story is just so good—I knew it needed to be told.”

Initially, Carol had no intention of writing a book about Gunstock. But when her teenage daughter, Sarah, undertook the project of preserving the old Outing Club building, Carol’s interest grew. She began a search for information about the history of skiing in the area, and quickly found that it had never before been documented in one place.

“I knew that if I didn’t do this,” Anderson says, “the information would be lost.” Thus began five years of research—the bulk of which was done by looking at microfilm at the Laconia Public Library. In this way Anderson read the daily papers that dated from 1929 all the way to 1959. It may sound like a tiresome task, “but this is where the stories of the people were, the interviews, the story of what was really going on.” Through these papers, she was able to not only create a comprehensive picture of the development of Gunstock, but also to find names of the people involved. From there, she interviewed those she could—though many had passed away, and others had difficulty recalling the details of that time.

Research also led Anderson to original blueprints of the area, and a wealth of old photos, and it’s thanks to her project that all these documents will now be preserved through the recently created Gunstock Mountain Historical Preservation Society. Originally organized to restore the 70-meter jump, the society has since expanded its mission to preserve the history of skiing at Gunstock and throughout the county.

Carol Anderson will be at the Gilford Public Library on Tuesday, October 18, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss the journey of writing her book and the stories that she discovered in the process, and to show a slideshow of old Gunstock photos. This program is free; contact the library for more details.

Notes from the library

Libraries are peaceful places, so you might be surprised to learn that in the library world, there's quite the debate about that old Dewey Decimal System. In part that's because in 2007, one library in Arizona decided to transition its nonfiction out of Dewey and into a more browser-friendly system. This was truly groundbreaking, and it gave that small library branch press in The Washington Post and The New York Times. Now, a relatively small number of public libraries across the country—Gilford Library included—have converted portions (or, in some cases, all) of their nonfiction collection into this new system that's commonly referred to as the ‘bookstore model.'

For fiction, organization is simple in public libraries: it's arranged by author. Nonfiction is another issue entirely; we need these organized by topic—health together, travel together, etc. Thus the Dewey Decimal System, which, in our country, has been the classification system for public libraries (academic libraries typically use the Library of Congress System) since its introduction in 1876. Today, Dewey is in use in over 200,000 libraries in 138 countries. In essence, the Dewey number on the spine of a nonfiction book tells us exactly where that book will be, and thus allows us to find a particular book quickly and efficiently.

Yet there are problems with the Dewey Decimal System. Perhaps the most applicable here is that studies show that 80% of patrons come to a public library to browse—not research—which means they want to go to a particular section, on, say, birds, and see what's there. With Dewey, that requires the patron to first know the number, which requires either looking it up in the card catalog or asking a librarian. Lots of browsers would prefer to skip this step.

Another problem with Dewey is that its categories were established in a time gone by. Take the 600s, for example. The broad category here is ‘Technology.' This includes everything from engineering to metalworking, but does not include information on computers. Or, in the 640s, devoted to ‘Home Economics,' you'll find the expected: sewing books, cookbooks—but you'll also find books about dating and ‘harmonious family relations.' These days, lots of patrons would prefer a more intuitive system.

But that doesn't mean that the Dewey Decimal System doesn't have its place. Rather than being designed to help patrons browse, Dewey (and the Library of Congress System) is meant to track down a particular book; the number dictates the exact place where the book will be. That is something that research libraries just cannot do without.

Yet a public, community library is a very different case. Here in Gilford, patrons like to browse through an entire section on, for example, gluten-free cooking, or explorers and adventurers. And now they can, for all cookbooks and biographies have been transitioned out of Dewey and into the ‘bookstore model.'

The results have been astounding. Biographies were the first to be re-catalogued, and within just one month their checkout rate increased by as much as 100%. In the year that's followed, biographies have remained at a steady 40% to 50 % checkout increase. That's as clear evidence as there could be that for this small library, moving out of Dewey is a positive step.

As the director of one of just a handful of libraries throughout the state who has begun to move out of Dewey, Katherine Dormody will speak about the change during October's NH Library Association conference.

When asked how she feels about the change, Dormody's response is very clear and concise. “The statistics show that more people are checking out more books,” she says. “Isn't that the library's mission?”

Gilford Write Now Writers' Group

If a book is incredible, or even if it is just really good, the reader can get the feeling that some magic wand has been waved to make the words appear on the page; it all falls together into a story that effortlessly. But in truth a good book—even a good short story—is most often born of hours upon hours of hard labor. Alice Munro, who is widely considered the best short story writer of our time, attests to this: “I went through about a year … when I couldn't finish a sentence. It was a time of terrible depression, about what I could do measured against what I wanted to do.” She says that she is sometimes able to finish one story in two months, but that is rare; usually one complete story takes about eight months to complete. There are a lot of false starts and wrong turns and re-dos along the way. That's helpful to know, I think, for those of us who try to write our own stories.

It's also helpful to have others around who are also grinding away through what can sometimes feel like a dark and endless tunnel. That's the idea of Write Now, the recently formed writer's group at the Gilford Public Library. So far, the group is made up of about 9 core members (and always welcomes new people to the table). It's a diverse group: a few interested in memoir for the sake of family legacy; one who aspires to complete a children's book; one “prolific humorist”; one essayist hoping to publish; and a handful of humble people just trying their hand at writing. “What we all share,” says co-facilitator Bonnie Carnivale, is “the desire to improve our craft with a little help from our friends.”

Write Now began at the close of a memoir-writing workshop taught at the Gilford Library; after that course, two of the writers wanted to continue writing, and felt that a writing community was vital to the process. To that end, Write Now members meet twice a month to share their writing; read and discuss work they admire; write using prompts; and critique each other's work.

“There are two huge benefits to the group,” says Bonnie. “We all get an audience, and we are all encouraged to keep writing.” She remarks that though the there is no set amount of pages that group members are expected to write outside of class, they all find themselves writing “more than they otherwise might.” And, their audience has recently expanded: every other Thursday, you can now read a piece from a group member in Gilford Steamer's new column, Writer's Nook.

Write Now meets from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of every month. For more information, contact the library or just come and join the group!

Author visit with Jenna Blum at the Library!

“My writing life is kind of like crop rotation,” says New York Times bestselling novelist Jenna Blum, who is the next author in the Gilford Public Library's Get Booked series. “When I'm working on a book, I'm in the Writers' Protection Program. My family and friends know I'm in lockdown and sometimes will literally leave food for me outside the door. I do this because I can't concentrate on the real world and the fictional world at the same time; it's like listening to two competing radio stations at once.”

That sort of arrangement seems to have worked for her; when Jenna was just 16, she published her first short story, which won first prize in Seventeen Magazine's National Fiction Contest. Since that time, Jenna has published two bestselling novels, in addition to a number of stories in literary journals.

Of her first book, Those Who Save Us, which tells the story of a woman who is liberated from Nazi Germany, Jenna says, “I baked everything that appears in the novel.” And she didn't only bake—Jenna “read everything” she could get her hands on about the Third Reich; she watched German films; listened to German music; took German classes; interviewed Holocaust survivors; and even dressed, for a short period of time, as the heroine of her novel would have dressed.

That sort of research—which Jenna herself jokingly refers to as “insanity”— is also what makes her novels so compelling. Her second novel was also born of remarkable research. Interested in tornados since she was a girl who loved The Wizard of Oz and herself experienced a tornado, Jenna spent years in Minnesota trying to track down storms, and eventually joined with a professional group to actually chase tornados. The result of that research, the widely praised The Stormchasers, also explores the life of a man with bipolar disorder and his twin sister. The novel could not have been written without her five years of storm-chasing experience.

“Like my characters, I'm still trying to understand the mysterious, majestic machinery behind big weather: how something as powerful and destructive as a tornado can happen so quickly, seemingly from a clear blue sky. And as a writer I've always been interested in how people put their lives back together after they've been devastated by huge forces beyond their control,” Jenna says of that book.

Currently, Jenna divides her time between Boston—where she teaches master novel workshops at Grub Street Writers—and her mother and grandmother's rural Minnesota hometown. She will be at the library on Tuesday, April 20, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. All are welcome and encouraged to come hear what this fascinating and talented writer has to say!

Notes from the library

For the duration of summer, we kept a small stamp here at the library's front desk, and when a patron read a book, we'd stamp a picture of a compass onto their Summer Reading playing card. There were a total of 300 participants who played the game, some who came in for one or two stamps, and others who filled their entire cards.

“Does the game really make you read more?” I finally began asking the patrons who came in day after day for one more stamp. The answers were all the same: an overwhelming yes. And it didn't matter their age—playing the game encouraged kids, teens, and adults not only to read more, but also to read a different kind of book than they were accustomed to.

“I like romances,” said one library patron who completed her playing card and reported that this summer she read about “the Congo, the science of brains, and life on a raft in the middle of the ocean.”

The Summer Reading game lasted seven weeks, and thanks to the Friends of the Library, those patrons who read themselves all the way to the finish line had their names added to a raffle to win a grand prize. For children, the winners were Sean Ellis and Kayla Loureiro, who each read either 18 or more chapter books or 60 or more easy reader books, depending on their age and reading level. Sean and Kayla each took home tickets to Storyland along with a Summer Reading t-shirt and tote bag.

For teens, the grand-prize winner and runner up each read seven books from seven different countries in seven weeks. The winner was Jessica Freeman, who won an iPod shuffle, in addition to a Summer Reading t-shirt, water bottle, and tote bag. Sally Tinkham won the runner-up prize, which was two tickets to the miniature golf course, plus a Summer Reading t-shirt, water bottle, and tote bag.

As for the adults, the grand-prize winner, Jackie Belanger, and two runners up—Marilyn Goodwin and Denise Martin—read a total of more than sixty books in just seven weeks. Jackie received a $50 gift certificate to Innisfree Bookshop in Meredith, Marilyn won a $25 gift certificate to Kitchen Cravings, and Denise won a $25 gift certificate to Sawyer's Dairy Bar.

Now that Summer Reading is finished it's time for National Library Card Sign-up month. That means that if you sign up for a GPL card this month, or if you refer someone else to sign up for one, your name will be added to a drawing to win one of four gift baskets donated by the Friends of the Gilford Library.

September is Library Card Sign Up Month

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when libraries across the country focus on encouraging people—particularly parents and their children—to sign up for the “smartest card.” The campaign began in 1987, when the American Library Association set the goal of getting a library card to every youth in the country. But in today's world, with so much available and so much to do on the internet, people are asking whether or not books will stick around. And, a lot of kids are asking how important reading really is, anyway.

In answer to this sort of question, the American publishing house McSweeney's sent out a number of researchers to discover and report upon the state of literacy, public libraries, and the publishing world. Their findings were clear: reading and all that goes with it is alive and well.

Reading, it turns out, is still the best thing you can do for a population. Time after time, studies have shown the “far-reaching benefits of literacy,” including “better health, greater social equality, increased economic prosperity,” along with increased “social, gender, education, and ethnic equality.” And these benefits actually go hand in hand with technological advances, for they help deliver more reading material to more people. Right now, in fact, literacy rates are the highest they have ever been, and more books and new writers are being published than ever before. And, these numbers are still rising.

As for the importance of libraries, many of the 5,306 GPL cardholders can attest to the fact that the library is the place for community activity. What else brings free music shows, a photography club, book discussion groups, a knitting group, a mahjong club, and weekly programs for children and teens to our small town? The library is also the number one resource for free internet access not only in our town but across the country, which means it's the place for many to study or apply for a job. And, while the internet offers a wealth of information, a library and its books and online databases offer what the general internet cannot: access to and guidance in finding a wealth of good, reliable information. In fact, according to the ALA, reference librarians answer nearly 5.7 million questions weekly. Put into a single-file line, those questioners would stretch from Long Island, New York, to Juneau, Alaska.

All of that accounts for the fact that library usage is currently as high as it's ever been. Today, according to the research company Harris Interactive, 62% of Americans are library cardholders. That's a high number, but considering that there are more public libraries in the US than there are McDonald's restaurants, the number can also seem low.

If you don't have a library card, September is the time to get one. Not only is joining the library a good thing to do for yourself, but it's also good for the town and the greater world. As an extra incentive, if you sign up for a GPL card this month, or if you refer someone else to sign up for one, your name will be added to a drawing to win one of four gift baskets donated by the Friends of the Gilford Library. Happy reading!

Old Home Day

Our summer days are numbered—already the nights are cooler, and while just a few weeks ago we prayed for a break in the heat, now we're trying to soak up as much sun as possible before we retreat inside for winter. But there still is time—time enough to take a few last small summer trips, and enough to read at least one more perfect summer book. So here are a few New Hampshire destinations, along with the books to accompany them:

One of the most beloved writers of the 20^th century, Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather spent a handful of her writing years in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and she felt such a kinship with the Monadnock region that she decided to be buried in the Old Burying Ground of her NH village. Upon visiting her grave, you'll notice that the cemetery is filled with the stones of early settlers, and that Cather's grave is off to the side, as though there wasn't room for her—and in fact there wasn't. But the townspeople of Jaffrey, so honored by Cather's request, found space for the writer. Her gravestone reads: “That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.” The quote is taken from My Ántonia, the novel that is frequently considered her masterpiece. A quietly boiling story of immigrants to the Nebraska prairie, reading My Ántonia is a lovely way to spend a few final days of summer.

No great books have been written aboard the Sophie C. Mailboat, but that Lakes Region relic—which is the oldest floating post office in the US (in fact, there's only one other of the sort)—is worth a stop on any literary tour of our state, for there's just something so old-world and romantic about sending mail to and from an island. But a ride around the lake on this nostalgic cruise is also a great entry into the history and folklore of our lake, and the New Hampshire Room is filled with old reference books documenting life on the lake. Try Winnipesaukee Whoppers; Fabulous Legends of the Lake Once Called Winnipiseogee to hear the lake's enduring myths, or Three Centuries on Lake Winnipesaukee to learn the fascinating stories of the boats that have graced the lake, including one steamboat that is sunk in Gilford's own Smith Cove, and the horse boats that were equipped with real horses to turn the propellers.

Currently the #1 bestselling history book, Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, by David McCullough, spends much of its time detailing the Parisian life of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who summered and eventually made his full-time home in Cornish, New Hampshire, until his death in 1907. As one of the country's most renowned sculptors, Saint-Gaudens's Cornish home is now a National Historic Site filled with gardens, sculptures, and information about the artist and his life. Of the experience of reading Greater Journey and then visiting the Saint-Gauden home, one library patron says, “It was incredible. McCullough brought that time period to life, and actually seeing the art after reading the book felt like stepping into history.”

Summer and the reading that goes with it isn't over yet, so for other great book suggestions, or for passes to New Hampshire museums, be sure to stop by the library on Old Home Day!

Gilford Old Home Day

Next week brings the 92^nd annual Gilford Old Home Day, and if you've spent your entire life in New Hampshire, you might not realize that this celebration exists only in our state. It began as Old Home Week in 1899, after NH Governor Frank West Rollins spent years lamenting the abandoned farms of our state. Eager to have people return to their home, he saw Old Home Week as an invitation for former residents to visit and, hopefully, buy an old farm.

“Come back, come back!” Rollins wrote, “Sons and daughters of New Hampshire, wherever you are, listen to the call of the old Granite State! Come back, come back. Do you not hear the call? What has become of the old home where you were born? Is it still in your family? If not, why not? Why do you not go and buy it this summer? Is there any spot more sacred to you than the place where you were born? No matter how far you have wandered, no matter how prosperous you have been, no matter what luxurious surroundings you now have, there is no place quite like the place of your nativity. The memories of childhood, the friendships of youth, the love of father and mother cling about it and make it sacred. Do you not remember it, the old farm back among the hills with its rambling buildings, its well-sweep casting, its long shadows, the row of stiff poplar trees, the lilacs and the willows? I wish that in the ear of every son and daughter of New Hampshire in the summer days might be heard whispered the persuasive words: Come back, come back!”

There's something that seems inarguably true about elements of his call, though today it's hard to know what effect Old Home Day has on the population of our state. For while the day itself probably doesn't bring people back to settle, it certainly is one of a handful of New Hampshire traditions that transforms our small and private towns into communities, and that—community—is perhaps the largest reason people return to the place they're from.

Here at the library, we'll celebrate Old Home Day with our annual Friends of the Gilford Library Book, Pie & Ice Cream Sale that begins on Friday, August 26, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., and resumes on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. New volunteers for this fundraiser are always welcome; stop by the library to sign up to make a pie or pick up a volunteer application.

Dog Days of Summer

We’re well into the dog days of summer, that hot and sticky stretch of July and August when just the act of walking across the room for a drink of water can seem insurmountable. It is because of the ancient Greeks that we call this period dog days, for it is in these months that the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, or “the scorcher,” rises at the same time as the sun. This star is a member of the constellation Canis Major—the Great Dog—which is one of Orion’s two hunting dogs (the other is Canis Minor). The Greeks believed that positioned as it was, this star added to the sun’s heat, and in addition to making them hot and tired, the weather also made the dogs go wild.

Today, while the heat is hard to stand, it is also one of the best times to escape the world with a big pile of good books. Here’s a look at some great new picks at the library:

For a different sort of thriller, check out The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. A bestselling crime novelist in Japan, Higashino’s American debut tells the haunting story of a single mother, her daughter, and the crime they commit.

Summer is a good time to get swept up in an epic tale, and Esmeralda Santiago’s bestselling Conquistadora has everything—love, war, adventure, family history and family curses—that a reader could want in a good saga.

If it’s romance you’re looking for, check out Vaclav & Lena, by debut writer Haley Tanner. This wonderful and wrenching book tells the story of two Russian immigrants who are destined for each other from the first moment they meet as young children.

If you’re one of the many who’s been enchanted by such historical television series as Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey, then American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin is for you. Set in the 1890s, the novel tells the story of a woman sent from America to England for marriage. If the Wild West is more your sort of history, then check out Mary Doria Russell’s fantastic novel Doc, which tells the story of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp.

There’s also our bestsellers shelf, with new books like James Patterson’s Now You See Her, Chevy Stevens’s Never Knowing, and Elin Hilderbrand’s Silver Girl. So if you need to escape these last dog days, getting a pile of books at the library is a great way to do it!

Fiddling with Ellen Carlson

Back in April, fiddler Ellen Carlson graced the library with an extraordinary show in which she fiddled her way through time and across cultures. Her music began in Sweden, moved to Ireland and Scotland, explored the instrument’s American and Canadian roots, and even experimented with the African body-rhythm technique of hamboning. Now, for the Gilford Library’s Summer Reading finale, Ellen will return to the stage on Wednesday, August 10, for what she calls Fiddle, Folk, and Fun from Around the World.

A retired math teacher, Ellen now offers music lessons to all ages and levels. As for why she chose the fiddle, “By the time it was my turn, the pickings in my father’s closet were slim”—and she’s not entirely kidding, either. Ellen comes from a remarkably musical family, for not only do her five siblings play music, but her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were all musicians as well. Ellen learned to play the fiddle by ear at square dances, and now she says she is drawn to that instrument because of the range it offers—the most similar to the human voice, she points out, of all the instruments.

Fiddle, Folk, and Fun from Around the World is a show similar to the last she offered yet with particular highlights for children. In addition to music from a variety of cultures, the performance will include hands-on activities like dancing limber-jack toys, Canadian ‘foot-stepping’ dances, and more hamboning. The show is on Wednesday, August 10, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Children and adults are invited to join in, for as Ellen reminds us, “Play music, listen to music, engage in music with others. It will cure what ails you.”

Novel Destinations: Ghana

In the early 90s, Gilford residents Don and Barbara Carey spent five years in the West Africa country of Togo, where they worked as the regional physician and nurse for Peace Corps volunteers. Recently the couple returned to western Africa for one month—this time to Ghana—to visit their son, who works as an agricultural scientist promoting orange sweet potatoes for their extraordinary health benefits. To give us a glimpse of what life is like in what they call their “favorite country in Africa,” Don and Barbara will be at the library on Thursday, August 4, to present Novel Destinations: Ghana.

“We spent some time in the bush,” says Don of the trip to visit his son, but he points out that this trip was quite different from their time in Africa more than twenty years ago, for back then they would travel “top to bottom, side to side” through rural West Africa with mosquito nets and gurneys. Though that wild, undeveloped landscape still exists, Don says that today his son lives a fairly westernized life in Kumasi.

In addition to a discussion, the Careys' program will include photos of “the bush,” their son's neighborhood in Kumasi, the beach, and snapshots of daily life in Ghana. Novel Destinations: Ghana will be held on Thursday, August 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Summer Reading

This year’s Summer Reading theme—which aims to open our eyes to the many stories around the world—seems of particular importance. For at its best, reading can be like travel, transporting us to a time, place, and way of being so very different from our own. In part this is just interesting—the mind is voracious, and stories feed us. But it can’t be as simple as that. Couldn’t these books that deal with ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles foreign to our own make us not only see another world, but see our own world more clearly? And sometimes, if one of these books is good enough, couldn’t it change our decisions, habits, and beliefs just a little bit?

That—a mind that is a little more open, a little more aware of other cultures—seems something to nourish, and that is what this summer’s reading programs aim to do. In the coming weeks, the library has numerous activities for children, teens, and adults to help expand our horizons and celebrate the stories around the world.

Here’s a look at what’s coming up:

One World, Many Stories brings us Music with Mar on Thursday, July 28, when Julie Wirth will lead children ages 0 to 8 in an interactive exploration of stories and music from around the world.

You Are Here—the teen Summer Reading program—offers teens a chance to express their place in the world on Friday, July 22, at SPOKEN, the library’s second open mic for teens. And on Wednesday, July 27, teens will have a chance to explore a slice of Mexican culture at the Piñata Party, where they’ll make piñatas, cook up a traditional Mexican snack, and explore Mexican music.

For adults, Novel Destinations will continue the Get Booked series, this time with bestselling novelist Randy Susan Meyers, who will read from her novel The Murderer’s Daughters and discuss what it that compels her to write, and where her stories come from.

For more events, be sure to check out the calendar below, and don’t forget to come in to play our Summer Reading games!

Get Booked with Author Fraser Houston

With old stonewalls and town pounds and antique homes spread across our state, many of us are compelled to imagine what New Hampshire life must have been like for those people who built our towns hundreds of years ago. That makes primary documents from this time—letters, diaries, newspaper reports—pure treasures, but those documents are also rare to come by, especially when the search is specific to New Hampshire.

Historian and writer Alan Fraser Houston is one of the few to have come across a wealth of primary documents from New Hampshire, and on Tuesday, July 19, from 6:30 to 7:30, he will be at the library to lead a discussion on his historical book, Keep Up Good Courage: A Yankee Family and the Civil War.

It was a “fortuitous chain of events,” says Houston of the research that led to his book. After reading an article in a 2002 Sandwich Historical Society bulletin that referenced letters from Civil War Corporal Lewis Q. Smith, Houston also discovered that a distant relative had the diary of this very same Lewis Smith.

Lewis Q. Smith lived on a family farm in Sandwich, and in 1862 he was one of more than half of the 340 eligible men of his town to answer President Lincoln's call for duty. During his time at war, Smith and his family wrote many letters back and forth, and they remarkably survived “under conditions of rain, sleet, snow, and mud.” After reading the family correspondence alongside the diary and old newspaper articles, Alan Houston discovered that these family letters now had unprecedented context, and ought to be published.

Keep Up Good Courage: A Yankee Family and the Civil War includes more than 125 letters, in addition to Houston's research and writings to provide insight into the time and place. The book documents life as a Civil War soldier and also the life of those at home on a farm in New Hampshire during the Civil War, which, says Houston, “was not much better than Lewis's,” for they faced “disease, epidemics, financial straits, uncertain politics, rumors, and, at times, unreliable war news. They anxiously awaited an end to the conflict, an end that always lay just over the horizon.” Keep up good courage was the refrain of these letters, and as this family faced the first draft the United States ever saw, the letters attest to the fact that they certainly did keep that courage up, both at home and on the battlefield.

Alan Fraser Houston's talk will be held at the Gilford Library on July 19, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.

Notes on writing...

“Fiction is a willfulness, a deliberate effort to reconceive, to rearrange, to reconstitute nothing short of reality itself,” writes Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri in her short essay Trading Stories. “Even among the most reluctant and doubtful writers, this willfulness must emerge. Being a writer means taking the leap from listening to saying, ‘Listen to me.'”

Perhaps it's that—the opportunity to have their thoughts and opinions listened to and taken seriously—that compels so many teens to write. Though when I was a teen, I don't think I could have identified my draw to writing as anything so concrete. I remember being enthralled with the act of filling the pages, front and back, until each one was so intricately indented it felt like brail. Those pages—though only a select few ever saw them—were a place to be alone and brave and honest and a place to feel alive. At least for me, that kind of personal freedom and power felt rare and thrilling, and it ended up being paramount to the decision of what sort of person I would become.

Beginning July 11, Gilford youth grades 5 and up will have the opportunity to explore their own writing worlds at Lani Voivod's week-long YOU ARE HERE Teen Writing Camp.

“That whole week, I'm in the zone,” says Catherine McLaughlin, a young aspiring fiction writer for whom the camp has been invaluable. About to enter her third year of the camp, Catherine points out that during the school year, she does not get this sort of opportunity to really immerse herself in the world of fiction, so the camp can feel like a lifesaver to her. Not only has this camp given her the time to write, but it's also helped her to turn her ideas into stories through techniques of plot and tension, and it's given her a forum to share her work and receive feedback.

“Writing can sometimes feel like reading the perfect story,” says Catherine, who loves to read but enjoys writing in part for the opportunity it gives her to enter a world of her own making. To help students get to that place, camp leader Lani Voivod will lead activities to spark imaginations, she'll offer tips and techniques to strengthen stories, and she'll introduce students to writing from other countries and cultures and then ask them to write from their own unique place in the world.

All students entering grades 5 and up are encouraged to join. The camp is held at the Gilford Library from Monday, July 11 through Friday, July 15, at 9 to noon each day. The cost is $75 and scholarships are available. Please contact the library to sign up.

Notes from the library

July 4^thmarks the official adaptation of the final version of the Declaration of Independence, and with its anniversary will come parades and picnics and fireworks galore. But one quick look at the Writer's Almanac reveals that this day has shaped the culture of our country in even more ways than are initially apparent, for it also marks the anniversary of some of the greatest strides in American literature, which has—whether or not we fully realize it—influenced so many of our thoughts and beliefs.

July 4th is the birthday of Nathanial Hawthorne, who, in his enduring novel The Scarlet Letter, called into question the rigidity of the Puritans. It's the day that Henry David Thoreau moved to a cabin near Walden Pond to plant trees and beans and keep a journal—eventually the classic Walden—of his thoughts of life in the woods; during his stay, it was he who coined the word spend in relation to one's time. And, July 4^th is also the day that Walt Whitman published Leaves of Grass, one of the most influential works of the Western canon. In that small volume was the poem I Hear America Singing, which has become a classic July 4^th poem:

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,

Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,

The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,

The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown,

The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing,

Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,

The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

That poem seems to speak to the diversity, achievement, and independence of the people of our country, and it's quite possible that it—along with the works of so many American writers who express our country's particular worldview—would never have existed if not for that first momentous July 4^th of 1776. So this year, as you gather with friends and family to sing songs and watch fireworks, you can think of all the stories that were made possible because of our country's Declaration of Independence.

Summer means Summer Reading!

It's time for Summer Reading! This year's national themes are designed to encourage readers to expand their world by exploring life in other places and cultures. The programs—One World, Many Stories for children, You are Here for teens, and Novel Destinations for adults—offer games, programs, and prizes to encourage reading during the summer months. And reading is fun, it's informative, it's a great escape, and sometimes, with some books, reading can change what we think and who we are. That's great for those of us who already love to read, but why do libraries across the country spend the summer months focusing so much time and energy on encouraging more people to read more?

One large reason is children. Researchers agree that in the summer months, students experience the ‘summer slide'—a time in which they lose an average of one entire month of what they've already learned; and the burden of this ‘summer slide' falls most heavily on students from less affluent families. But researchers also agree on the direct correlation between reading success and school success. Thus Summer Reading—get the kids in here in the summer, and they'll do better in school and in life.

That doesn't mean that Summer Reading is just for kids. Highlights from the adult program include a Bingo game to track your reading, plus visits from authors in our Get Booked series. Teens can also track their reading to win prizes, and attend a number of You are Here events from around the world, including henna tattoos, beaded necklaces from Bhutan, and a piñata party. Celebrations for children include special programs such as Reptiles on the Move, a Summer Reading Storywalk at the Ramblin' Vewe Farm, and a visit from storyteller Odds Bodkin.

Summer Reading sign-up begins at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 27, with refreshments and music by Paul Warnick from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. For a complete schedule of Summer Reading weekly events, check out our online calendar or stop by the library.

GPS class at the Library

For map aficionados, midnight of May 2, 2000, was a night to celebrate. This was the moment when the GPS devices in their hands received an upgrade that allowed them to “precisely pinpoint their location or the location of items left behind for later recovery.” In other words, instead of knowing that you're somewhere in the field, you could now know that you're next to the goal post at the southeast end of that field. In addition to helping people find their way, this change in accuracy immediately marked the creation of a new, popular game: geocaching.

The following day, GPS enthusiast Dave Ulmer became the first geocacher with what he called the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt.” The idea was simple—hide something in the woods, give the coordinates, and see if others can find that something. People did, and within a few months geocaching was born: a game in which players use coordinates and a GPS to find a cache that's typically filled with trinkets and a notepad. Players can write in the notepad and take a souvenir from the cache as long as they leave something in its place. Today, there are more than 1,413,284 active geocaches around the world, and thousands of people trekking about in the woods on a treasure hunt.

Gilford resident and library volunteer Mike Marshall is one of these GPS treasurer hunters, and if you have a library card, you can sign up to go on a geocache with him this summer. You'll go for a walk in the Belknap Range, learn how to use a GPS, see what this game is all about, and after that you can even check out the library's GPS for one week. Geocaching at the Library runs every Wednesday from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. from June 29 through August 24 and is open to all library cardholders. Sign up is required, as space is limited to four participants per week.

A bike trip through the Americas

There's something so alluring and indelibly American about packing up and hitting the road to wander across our continent. Walt Whitman and Jack Kerouac, the 1969 film Easy Rider, Steinbeck's Travels with Charley, Pirsig's bestselling Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance—our country seems to have an insatiable thirst for these stories of man alone and free on the open road.

What is it that's so compelling about these trips, anyway? Perhaps it's just those images that such a journey conjures—impromptu picnics along Western rivers, wind in your hair and miles of seemingly untouched road ahead.

“For me, I just wanted an adventure,” says NH resident Ben Slavin, who will be at the Gilford Public Library on June 14 to present A Few More Miles: A Bike Trip Through the Americas. Slavin, determined to see the world while he's still young and healthy, is one of the few who took the romantic notion of the road and made it a reality.

“Watching TV isn't my idea of entertainment,” he says, and instead he hopped on his Kawasaki and rode south, ending in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. This journey—which totaled six months and 23,000 miles—allowed him to see the daily life and the phenomenal landscape of fifteen different countries. Slavin will present A Few More Miles on Tuesday, June 14, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. This program is free and open to the public; all are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Museums!

As a tourist, I always check out the museums of the places I'm visiting. No matter if it's paintings or gardens or historic buildings—I go. Last summer I even went to a scarecrow museum in Nova Scotia just because it was there and I was there and it seemed like something interesting to see. But here in my home state, I haven't been to a museum since the days of school field trips. And I think that's a common occurrence—while the tourists frequent our state's attractions, many of us either take them for granted or don't even know about them.

But there are so many museums in our little state! And even better, thanks to the Friends of the Gilford Library, with a library card we can get passes to visit these museums for free. So whether it's the 17^th century or outer space that you want to visit, you can do it this summer without even leaving New Hampshire.

The Gilford Library's museum passes, sponsored by the Friends, include Strawberry Banke, Libby Museum, Squam Lakes Science Center, Canterbury Shaker Village, Currier Museum, Wright Museum, the Children's Museum of NH, the NH Historical Society Museum, and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

Longer days and warmer weather make summer the perfect time to get out and about, so stop by the library to check out a museum pass (and call first to reserve the pass if you like). And remember that Summer Reading begins on June 27, and this year's theme will take us around the world. For the children, it's One World, Many Stories, for teens it's You Are Here, and for the adults the Summer Reading theme is Novel Destinations.

Gilford Write Now Writers' Group

Last October, the library offered a one-month memoir-writing workshop, and because of the popularity of that program, two more were offered in January. In total, there were about 25 different library patrons who spent a month or two focused on writing their stories. Some of these people had been working away at a book for years, and others hadn't sat down to write much more than a list since high school. But in this workshop they all wrote, and remembered, and wrote more, and they even had the courage to show their work and receive feedback. And at the end of their time in the course, nearly everyone was saying they wanted to continue—writing their stories, yes, but also being a part of a writing community. And that's how Write Now formed; it's an ongoing writers' group that meets on Wednesday afternoons at the Gilford Public Library, and participants read, write, and share their work.

“It left us wanting more,” say Bonnie Carnivale and Chris Roderick, who were both members of the memoir workshop. “The group provided energy, inspiration, and motivation. After each class we'd rush home to write. We learned to appreciate the art of critique and came to respect the feedback of our peers.” Of Write Now, which together they will facilitate, they say their mission is “to share ideas, develop ourselves as writers, and broaden our writing capabilities.”

Writers of all levels, interests, and genres are encouraged to join this ongoing group. Just sign up at the circulation desk, and arrive for the group ready to write. The group meets in the library meeting room every Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Art display at the Library.

A grotesque bug born of old soda cans, a series of feet in their strange shoes, a startlingly yellow sliced lemon, a cow lounging in his bucolic home—these are the things that the teenagers have decorated the walls of the library with, along with still-life drawings of tabletop objects, ceramics both abstract and utilitarian, provocative photographs of themselves and their friends, and computer-generated mixed-media collages. This year's high school art exhibit is bright, it's diverse, and it offers us the occasion to glimpse the interior lives of this next generation.

“Art defines me as an individual,” said Beth Gilson, when asked what it is art means to her. Another student, Heather Lakin, now a senior, added that art “keeps me going.” These are bold statements to make—and they beg that age-old question … when it really comes down to it, what is it that art gives us?

Consider that Oliver Messiaen, one of the most influential composers of the 20^th century, composed his masterpiece while in a concentration camp and performed it for four thousand prisoners and guards, and it seems that art really can be not only a way to enrich life but also—as Heather remarked—a way to keep going. Because Messiaen is not an anomaly; never mind the creators themselves—thousands of viewers have risked their lives to print and distribute literature, to listen to music, to carry with them a piece of art deemed illegal by a regime. There is something in art, these stories argue, that is vital to life.

So if you haven't already seen the show, come by the library to view the works of Gilford teens. There's a tin can motorcycle that took Andrew Marceau “forever” to make and that taught him how much time and effort details require—a “great life lesson,” he says. Martha Hempel, who defines art as “freedom of expression” has stunning photographs displayed, one of which won a Scholastic Arts Gold Key award. There are photographs of shoes that made Kyle Middleton realize that each piece of art, like each person, requires “a unique solution,” and there is piece after piece that, as many teenagers remarked, just makes them feel good—accomplished and proud. That is reason enough to come by and take a look. The high school art show will be up until Monday, May 30.

Dr. Sam Aldridge will speak at the Library.

It is difficult for many of us to imagine what life is like in a foreign and remote place, especially one that suffers from abject poverty. Add war to that, and, at least for me, daily life becomes virtually impossible to conceive of. But I know that to glimpse the life of others so far away can have a profound impact on my own life—it can change my political opinions and perceived needs; it can make me look at my own life with a newfound gratitude, confusion, and sometimes shame; it can alter my goals and even the trajectory of my life. And if none of that happens, in the least a look at how others live will simply open my eyes to a larger world.

But travel to such distant lands is rare, especially in a time of war. Maybe that's why books and movies and discussions about those who live in warzones are so popular and compelling; stories of these people and places make our news human, and thus understandable. So in an effort to offer such an experience to our community, LRGH vascular surgeon and Army Reserves Medical Corps member Dr. Sam Aldridge will be at the library on Tuesday, May 17, to present a talk on his experiences as a trauma surgeon in Afghanistan.

His third deployment since 9/11, Dr. Aldridge was most recently stationed for six months in Logar, an eastern province of Afghanistan that's situated against the mountains of Pakistan. There Aldridge lived among soldiers on a Forward Operating Base—a base that puts surgeons on the ground with soldiers, and therefore cuts down travel time for the injured, and allows doctors to operate in what's known as the ‘golden hour' of injury, when transportation to another location would cost their lives.

In this remote area, Aldridge lived his daily life, performed surgery as needed, and, by sending home a small request for socks for the Afghan soldiers and school supplies for the orphaned children, Aldridge also inspired a movement that brought hundreds of boxes of donations to those in need.

At When Surgery Intersects With War, Dr. Aldridge will use photographs and stories to explore the development of trauma surgery, his experiences in Afghanistan, and the support that he received from an extended community both onsite and home in New Hampshire. This program is on Tuesday, May 17, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public. Note that this program includes photographs of wartime surgery and is not suitable for children.

Library Notes

Each spring when the chirps and calls return I imagine that those birds have finally woken up from a great slumber. But of course the truth—both obvious and astonishing—is that most of our birds have just returned from a winter abroad. Here in New Hampshire, some of the most common birds have endured nonstop flights of more than 2,500 miles in order to return to their breeding grounds. That makes spring in New Hampshire an extraordinary time for bird-watching, so on Saturday, April 14, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., bird watcher Mike Coskren will lead a spring bird walk in the Weeks Woods.

“They flutter around,” says Coskren of the warblers, which are some of the most beautiful birds of North America, and which will be the focus of the walk in Weeks Woods. Many of these brightly colored, insect-eating songbirds are only here for a short visit on their way farther north, and others, like the black-throated green and the black-throated blue warbler, will make their nests here for the season. By identifying the warblers through sight and sound, the bird walk will be a chance to glimpse life in the woods.

In addition to warblers, Coskren will help spot and identify wrens, bluebirds, and other spring birds. To prepare for the hike, stop by the library and pick up a book about birds and bird identification, and then pack your binoculars and show up in the Gilford Department of Public Works parking lot on Saturday at 8:00 a.m.—rain or shine—and be prepared to hike. The bird walk is free and open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend.

Notes from the library

In a town this size, there's no rush and scarcely any traffic; you can check out a book at the library even if you forgot your library card; and there's natural beauty—here it's the rolling mountains, the lake, the old stone walls that line the land. Life moves slowly here, and that's what makes it such a good place to be. But it's also what can make it hard—on those rare occasions when I actually want to do something, what is there to do?

Because it's good, now and then, to get out and experience something different, to talk to new people and hear new ideas, to see something that will make me think in a surprising way. So I consider us incredibly fortunate, here in Gilford, to have a library that's able to provide not only media but activities, too. Artists and musicians, philosophers, old people and young people and in-between people, readers and movie-watchers—under this roof, there's a way for any sort of person to get involved in a welcoming community. So as spring approaches and you find yourself restless for something new, you might think about joining one of the library's community groups. Here's a look at some of the recent ones:

· Begun in the first week of January, the Philosophy Club has been going strong week after week, with a different discussion topic for each meeting. The group meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30.

· In its first week, Lifelines Poetry Workshop is four-week course led by Gilford poet Kelley White. Designed for poets of all levels and interests, this course is a great way to learn about and practice the craft in a challenging but supportive environment. The group meets on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

· Crafter's Corner is a fun, relaxed way to work on your needlework projects and learn new techniques. Led by artist Dawn Lemay, the group meets on Thursday evenings from 6:00 – 7:30.

· Beginning in June and running through August, all interested in learning to navigate the woods with a GPS will have a chance to learn for free with Weekly Geocache courses. The group will meet on Wednesday mornings from 9:30 – 11:00, and is led by Mike Marshall.

· Anyone interested in painting is invited to sign up for Watercolor Classes with Mary Lou John. The course begins in June, runs for six weeks, and costs $36 plus supplies. Space is limited, so sign up early!

In addition to these new groups, the library also has many ongoing groups, including monthly book discussions, Knit Wits knitting, mahjong, Gilford Clickers photography club, drop-in rug hooking, a teen PageTurners group, and Storytime groups for children of all ages. Drop by the library or call for more details on the groups that interest you!

Notes from the library

“It's funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women,” remarks Emmy Award winning comedian Paula Poundstone, whose voice you may have heard on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. “The truth,” she goes on to say, “is that libraries are raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy and community.” She points out that libraries are places for injustice to be countered, for noisy toddlers to be heard, and for illiterate adults to be helped. “Libraries,” she reminds us, “can never be shushed.”

Yet our library—and so many more around the country—would be inestimably poorer without a Friends Group, that hard-working nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to raising money for and public awareness about the library. Here in Gilford, the Friends began in the 1970s and revitalized in the 1990s, and has seen a steady membership of more that 200 people for the last 20-plus years.

If you've ever been to the library's bookstore, if you've browsed the summer book sale or enjoyed dessert at the annual pie and ice cream social, if you've picked up a Bingo Card to play our summer reading game or checked out a museum pass, if you've read a newsletter, sat in a recently replaced chair or even if you've just set foot in the new library building, you—and all of us who are a part of the library—have the Friends of the Gilford Library to thank.

So as we prepare for summer, the season when the Friends are the busiest, we'd like to take a minute to thank these tireless volunteers and to encourage newcomers to join. Currently the Friends group meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. If you'd like to become a member—in any capacity, no matter if you'd want to attend each meeting or just help out with the book sale in the summer—stop by the library or call for more details.