Prince of Tides to be an ABC TV series

Bookpage.com recently reported that televsion network "...ABC is developing a series adaptation of author Pat Conroy's [novel] The Prince of Tides."

While there are no details on when the series will be coming to a TV near you, in the interim you can always pick up the movie adaptation of The Prince of Tides, starring Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand, or peruse one of Conroy's many other works.

Conroy's most recent novel, published in 2009, is South of Broad, set in Charleston, South Carolina.

Conroy also has a new book scheduled for publication in November of 2010,

My Reading Life.

MKL

Trails and Open Space in Wellesley

Walks in Wellesley


Just in time for the fall season, the library has received new editions of Walks in Wellesley: Exploring Open Space and Trails. First published almost 40 years ago by The Wellesley Conservation Council, a private organization.

Walks in Wellesley has been totally revised, the councils objective has been to view the trails with fresh eyes reflecting their current condition . Some of the trails include Gurnsey Sanctuary, Pickle Point, and Cronk's Rocky Woodlland. The trail map has been revised as well. Copies may be purchased from the Wellesley Conservation Council.


Wellesley Conservation Council
P.O. Box 81129
Wellesley Hills, MA 02481
781-237-6125

TB

Who's on First and Other Important American Speeches

Yes, I know. Speeches just don't cut it these days. But even if sitting down and listening to Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor speech after dinner doesn't quite appeal, maybe Nixon's Checkers speech would perk you up after a hard day's work. Or Walter Payton's Hall of Fame speech. Find these and about 5000 others at AmericanRhetoric.com, the creation of Michael Eidenmuller. For many of the 20th century speeches, audio and video are available in addition to the text. (The video of Socrates' Apology is inexplicably absent.) Website design is perhaps not Prof. Eidenmuller's specialty, but looks and bells and whistles aside, this is a great web site for finding inspirational and historically significant speeches--and just browsing for fun. The speeches are arranged alphabetically (by first name!) and in some special topics like 9/11, Obama and Top 100. There is also a section of movie speeches where you will find speeches by movie title. And students, remember: speeches are primary sources!
--RL

Looking for an award-winning audio book?

Each month, AudioFile magazine reviewers present the Earphones award to the best recent recordings of both new and older books.
Some of October's winners include:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, narrated byDavid Ledoux

A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay, narrated by Simon Vance

Three Stations by Martin Cruz Smith, narrated by Ron McLarty

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner, narrated by Victor Bevine

Eye of the Red Tzar by Sam Eastland, narrated by Paul Michael

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, narrated by Trevor White














-DB

J.K. Rowling, Philanthropist

Most of us are familiar with J.K. Rowling as the author of the phenomenally popular and successful Harry Potter series of books (and movies). However, Ms. Rowling is now making news for a different reason: she has just donated $15.4 million to to found a clinic at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland that will offer treatment of and research into multiple sclerosis, the disease to which she lost her mother.

CBS News.com reports Rowling, a longtime Edinburgh resident, as saying that she had "...been looking for a way to give something meaningful back to the city for a long time..," and that she could not "...think of anything more important, or of more lasting value, than to help the university..." CBS also notes that Rowling has attributed one of the Potter books' main themes, that of a child dealing with loss, to the death of her mother, for whom the clinc will be named.

MKL

And the Oprah pick is....

Yes, it's Jonathan Franzen's new book, Freedom. Kind of funny. Will he appear on the show? Wait and see... let's hope she's nicer to him than she was to James Frey.

maf

September Online Resource of the Month--AskArt

September Online Resource of the Month

Stay tuned each month as we feature one of the online resources that we make available to Wellesley residents. You may access all of our online resources by selecting "Databases" in the Minuteman Library Catalog. Most of the online resources may be used from home with a library card.

AskArt provides information on nearly 200,000 artists from the early 16th century; images of artworks; art appraisals; International auction records; museum references; and links to websites. Teachers, students, and art lovers have all found it very useful.

Take a peek by clicking on the title or logo above. Some of the information may be seen for free. For full access, it must be used in the library. See a Reference Librarian for more information. SH

Oprah has a new book club pick

Stay tuned... Oprah will announce her new book club pick on September 17th. Hard to believe that Oprah started her book club fourteen years ago with Jacqueline Mitchard's The Deep End of the Ocean.

maf

Johnny's in the basement . . . searching Google

In a follow-up to Sue's post Google now reads your mind, here's a video that demonstrates Google Instant's search capabilities as performed by my musical favorite, Bob Dylan!



MW

Google now reads your mind...

Google never stops looking for new features to keep and recruit new users. They now have begun reading your mind about what you are trying to search and present you with instant gratification! Thus the name of this new Google search enhancement is Google Instant Search.

For example, if you begin a search with "w," the search will immediately begin to display weather in anticipation that you are looking for weather information. At the same time the search box lists other popular searches that begin with w--walmart,whitepages, etc--below your search as other options to search. When I started to key in library, it took 4 characters "libr" before Library of Congress appeared. Disappointing.

Reviews of Google Instant Search that you may like to check out are:

CNET
Wired
Engadget


Or try the You Tube Video.


Let's see, they search for us, think for us,...perhaps voice activated search will be next so we do not have to even key in the search! SH

Espionage in World War II

A list of some of the most popular spy stories from World War II.


The Wolves at the Door : The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy
by Judith L. Pearson

Born into wealthy Baltimore circles, Virginia Hall surprisingly found herself working for the British Special Operations Executive, the espionage and sabotage organization, during World War II.



The Hornet's Sting : The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum
by Mark Ryan

Mark Ryan describes how Tommy made incredible escape's from Denmark, while carrying important intelligence about the Nazi atomic bomb and his reception in Britain.



Operation Mincemeat : How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
by Ben Macintyre

In 1943 a body washed ashore off the coast of Spain carrying falsified intelligence documents designed to convince the Germans that Allied forces planned to invade Greece and Sardinia rather than Sicily. The successful execution of this clever ruse, code named "Operation Mincemeat," is the subject of this entertaining nonfiction spy thriller.



Winds of Freedom : The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II
by Margaret T. Bixler

An account of the creation of the vocabulary and the training of Navajos to send messages in code. The code was used through the Pacific Campaign and never broken.



My Father's Secret War : A Memoir
by Lucinda Franks

From a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist comes a haunting memoir about a daughter's relationship with her distant father and the shocking scars of war he could never reveal.



Combined Fleet Decoded : The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II
by John Prados

Prados gives a new picture of the war in the Pacific, one which will challenge many previous conceptions of the way intelligence, of all kinds, was instrumental in defeating Japan.



Zigzag : The Incredible Wartime Exploits of Double Agent Eddie Chapman
by Nicholas Booth

A con man, a womanizer, a thief-and the most remarkable double agent of the World War II. British military intelligence, MI5, called him ZigZag, and he proved to be one of their most valued agents.



Shadows in the Jungle : The Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines in World War II
by Larry Alexander

The national bestselling author of "Biggest Brother" presents this new account of World War II heroism. Alexander follows the footsteps of the men who made up the elite reconnaissance unit that served as General MacArthur's eyes and ears in the Pacific War.



Roosevelt's Secret War : FDR and World War II Espionage
by Joseph E. Persico
Joseph Persico has uncovered a hitherto overlooked dimension of FDR's wartime leadership: his involvement in intelligence and espionage operations. Roosevelt's Secret War is crowded with remarkable revelations: -FDR wanted to bomb Tokyo before Pearl Harbor -A defector from Hitler's inner circle reported directly to the Oval Office -Roosevelt knew before any other world leader of Hitler's plan to invade Russia, just to name a few.



They Dared Return : The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines in Nazi Germany
by Patrick K. O'Donnell

In a style more resembling thriller fiction than history, Virginia-based military historian O'Donnell, who specializes in World War II espionage, tells how several friends who had escaped Germany trained with the US Army for some months, then went to the Alpine Redoubt heavily fortified area in Austria to spy for the Allies.

TB

Banned Books Week!

It's almost that time of year again! No, not "back to school" - it's "Banned Books Week," September 25th through October 2nd, 2010. According to the American Library Association's (ALA) Office of Intellectual Freedom, which created the event, BBW "...highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States."

The ALA's website has a Calendar of Events set to take place across the country to commemorate the week. One of the most impressive is "Read Out! Chicago" (Saturday, September 25 from 12-2), where renowned children's author Chris Crutcher "...will host authors of the ten most challenged books of 2009, as they read from their work and share their experiences as targets of censors."

At present, the Boston area does not appear to have a marquee event, but you can certainly check out some of the entries on the ALA's list of Top Ten most frequently challenged books of 2009 below.

1. TTYL (series)

2. And Tango Makes Three

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

5. Twilight (series)

10. The Chocolate War

-MKL

Slopes, and Springs and Summits (Oh My!)

We reference librarians are often excited by what's available in our databases. We know how much is available in these databases, so we know how underused they are. I guess it's because Google seems to provide all that there is. Or maybe, it's the name: databases. Can you think of a less inviting name? As reference librarians, it's our job to answer questions and provide information. So we're leery about getting info from random web sites and we can't just give up if Google doesn't come through.
Take one of our newer databases for example: A to Z the USA. The database compiles tons of information about every state and county in the country. Everything from ballet companies to crime statistics; energy resources to license plates. In the gazetteer section you can locate every beach, cave, cliff, rapids, swamp and 60 other geographical features. Included are human-made features like churches, bridges and mines and some lesser-known destinations like aars, benches, pillars and guts. Fortunately, all terms are defined. Each listing includes latitude and longitude and a link to Google maps. (The database is accessible from home to Wellesley residents--a library card is needed.)
--RL

Beware the Library Police!

A video from Pope Pius XII Library at St. Joseph College on youtube...
--RL

Upcoming Books to Movies

The American, in theatres today, is directed by Anton Corbijn and stars George Clooney. The movie is based on the novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth.

Never Let Me Go, directed by Mark Romanek, stars Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, Charlotte Rampling, and Sally Hawkins. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro and due in theatres on September 15.

The Town, directed by Ben Affleck, stars Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, and Jeremy Renner. The movie is based on the book of the same name by Chuck Hogan and is due in theatres on September 17.

The Social Network, directed by David Fincher, is due in theatres October 1. Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich, stars include Joseph Mazzello, Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones, Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, directed by Tyler Perry, is based on the play of the same name by Ntozake Shange and due out in November. Stars include Janet Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg and Phylicia Rashad.

-DB

World Fantasy Award Nominees

Love fantasy & science fiction? Check out the World Fantasy Award Nominees for 2009 posted by Locus, the Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field. The awards are scheduled to be presented October 28-31 at the World Fantasy Convention. In the meantime, select your favorite from the nominees for best novel.


Blood of Ambrose, James Enge (Pyr)
The late Emperor's brother-in-law and murderer, Lord Urdhven, appoints himself Protector to his nephew, young King Lathmar VII and sets out to kill anyone who stands between himself and mastery of the Empire. (Fantasy)

The Red Tree, Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)
Sarah moves to rural Rhode Island to finish writing her book after her friend takes her life. There's something sinister about the house, and she discovers that a prior owner committed suicide while researching a book about the supernatural folklore of New England. Exploring the basement, Sarah discovers his manuscriptand soon finds herself in a living nightmare centered on a mysterious red oak tree in the house's yard. (Fantasy)

The City & The City, China Miéville (Macmillan UK/ Del Rey)
Inspector Tyador Borlú must travel to Ul Qoma to search for answers in the murder of a woman found in the city of Beszel. "An existential thriller"--NY Times (Sci Fic)
Finch, Jeff VanderMeer (Underland)
In a world where mysterious underground dwellers rule the state of Ambergris and control its residents with addictive drugs, internment camps and random acts of terror, John Finch and his partner, Wyte, must solve a double murder for their oppressive masters, all while trying to make contact with the scattered rebel resistance. (Sci Fic)
In Great Waters, Kit Whitfield (Jonathan Cape UK/Del Rey)
Set in the past, with a twist, "In Great Waters" features a race of mer-people--men and women who have evolved to live in the oceans--that protects the coast of each country against attacks from the others. (Sci Fic) SH