Thursday, January 5, 2012

Top 10 History Books of 2011

Rankings are based on popularity determined by circulation statistics.

1. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
By Larson, Erik
2011-05 - Crown Publishing Group (NY)

The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.

2. The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris
By McCullough, David
2011-05 - Simon & Schuster

McCullough tells the story of the American artists and scientists who studied in Paris, and changed America through what they learned there.

3. Zeitoun
By Eggers, Dave
2009-07 - McSweeney's Books

"This is a beautiful book. "Zeitoun" is a poignant, haunting, ethereal story about New Orleans in peril. Eggers has bottled up the feeling of post- Katrina despair better than anyone else.

4. The Perfect Nazi: Uncovering My Grandfather's Secret Past
By Davidson, Martin
2011-03 - Putnam Adult

Using the skills he honed as a documentary producer for the BBC, Davidson explores the truth behind his family's dark secret--his grandfather was a Nazi SS officer.

5. The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss
By de Waal, Edmund
2010-08 - Farrar Straus Giroux

In the 1870s, Charles Ephrussi assembled a collection of 360 Japanese ivory carvings known as "netsuke." In this grand story, a renowned ceramicist and the fifth generation to inherit the collection traces the story of a remarkable family and a tumultuous century.

6. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
By Hillenbrand, Laura
2010-11 - Random House
Telling an unforgettable story of a young lieutenant's journey into extremity, "Unbroken" is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

7. Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
By Miles, Richard
2011-07 - Viking Books

The first full-scale history of Carthage in decades, "Carthage Must Be Destroyed" reintroduces modern readers to the larger-than-life historical players and the ancient glory of this almost forgotten civilization.

8. Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
By Puleo, Stephen
2003-09 - Beacon Press
The Boston molasses flood lives dimly in popular memory, but no historian has explored it fully until now. Puleo brings this disaster to life with vivid prose, using the dreadful catastrophe as a lens through which to view the panorama of a changing Boston, as well as to survey the major events that would shape the future of 20th-century America.

9. The Whites of Their Eyes: Bunker Hill, the First American Army, and the Emergence of George Washington
By Lockhart, Paul Douglas
2011-06 – Harper

One hot June afternoon in 1775, on the gentle slopes of a hill near Boston, Massachusetts, a small band of ordinary Americans--frightened but fiercely determined--dared to stand up to a superior British force. Paul Lockhart combines military and political history to offer a major reassessment of one of the most famous battles in American history.

10. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
By Mann, Charles C.
2005-08 - Knopf Publishing Group

In this groundbreaking study, Mann shows how a new generation of anthropologists and archaeologists, using new research techniques, have come to the persuasive conclusion that more people lived in the Americas in 1491 than in Europe.

TB

Friday, December 30, 2011

need some help with ebooks?


Did Santa or a loved one buy you an ereader for the holiday but you don't want to blow your budget on buying books? Well the library has you covered because you can check out ebooks free from the library using our Overdrive system. Don't know how to use it? No worries, we've got that too--check out our video tutorials on using Overdrive for Kindles, Nooks, iPads and other iDevices, and Sony eReaders.

MW

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

MP3 Audiobooks

If you can’t get in your car or go for your daily walk without listening to your favorite mystery writer on a sound recording, we hope you will try our MP3 collection of audiobooks. One or two discs hold the contents of an entire book and are compatible in most newer model cars (after 2007) and portable MP3 players. The sound quality is excellent and tracking is easy. The collection features various genres including new fiction, mystery, classics, biography, language instruction and nonfiction. Check out our display at the entrance to the Media Room on the first floor of the library. And remember – if the title you are looking for is checked out, we may have it in another audio format such as book on CD, Playaway or downloadable through Overdrive.

-DB


Wednesday, December 21, 2011

New Books for January

















What's coming out in fiction and mystery for January? Here are a few titles:

Taken by Robert Crais

When the police tell a wealthy industrialist that her missing son has faked his own kidnapping, she hires Elvis Cole and Joe Pike-and Cole soon determines that it was no fake.


Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George

Inspector Lynley is back! And he's mystified when he's sent undercover to investigate the death of Ian Cresswell at the request of the man's uncle, the wealthy and influential Bernard Fairclough.


Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel

One is a bestselling Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist. The other is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Together, they form a writing team of pure comic genius.

maf

Friday, December 16, 2011

First Books

Babies love books - even 3 month olds like Elijah. Come to the Wellesley Free Library to browse our large collection of board books and picture books. Or drop in for Bookbabies, our weekly stories, songs and fingerplays for babies and toddlers 3-30 months of age. The group meets Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Main Library, Tuesdays at the Fells Branch and Fridays at the Hills Branch.

Another handy resource in the Children's Room is the Grandparent Travel Kit, which may be enjoyed by any caretaker, grandparent or not! The kit includes :

-Fodor's Around Boston with Kids
-Make Way for Ducklings (CD included)
-Fun with the Family in Massachusetts
-Walks in Wellesley (map included)
-Reading with your grandchild



We’d love to hear from you. Share with us YOUR child’s favorite books!


-DB

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Amazing Libraries (35 of them!)


And you thought the Wellesley Free Library was a really nice library? Well it is, of course, but check out some amazing libraries on TheBestColleges web site. From Sweden to Australia to New York City these libraries really might be "the 35 Most Amazing Libraries in the World."
--RL

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Holiday Books

Some books about the history, folklore, and culture of holidays.


The American Book of Days
The American Book of Days
By Christianson, Stephen G.
Compiled by Christianson, Stephen G.
2000-01 - H. W. Wilson
0824209540 Check Our Catalog

For each day of the year, several essays explore significant events at their anniversaries. Coverage of American holidays has been revised and updated since the first edition in 1937.

Holiday Symbols and Customs
Holiday Symbols and Customs
By Henderson, Helene
2008-03 - Omnigraphics
9780780809901 Check Our Catalog

Holidays reflect the history and identity of people of all cultures. This book provides an introduction to the ways in which people celebrate and the meanings attached to these traditions.

Charlemagne's Tablecloth
Charlemagne's Tablecloth
By Fletcher, Nichola
2005-08 - St. Martin's Press
9780312340681 Check Our Catalog

Feasts, banquets, and grand dinners have always played a vital role in our lives. They lift the spirits, involve all our senses and, at times, transport us to other fantastical worlds. Nichola Fletcher has written a captivating history of feasts throughout the ages that includes the dramatic failures along with the dazzling successes.
…More

The Joy of Family Traditions: A Season-By-Season Companion to Celebrations, Holidays, and Special Occasions
The Joy of Family Traditions: A Season-By-Season Companion to Celebrations, Holidays, and Special Occasions
By Thompson, Jennifer Trainer
2008-05 - Celestial Arts
9781587611148 Check Our Catalog

This season-by-season companion to 400 celebrations, activities, and rituals inspires and instructs families on creating, personalizing, adapting, and preserving family traditions that will be meaningful and special to them. …More

Holiday Decorating
Holiday Decorating
By Fulweiler, Megan
2001-11 - MetroBooks (NY)
1586632272 Check Our Catalog

Filled with charming ideas for decorating inside and out, "Holiday Decorating" explores ways to inject the spirit of the season into every part of the home, from the front porch to the family room and dining room. …More

Ex-Etiquette for Holidays and Other Family Celebrations
Ex-Etiquette for Holidays and Other Family Celebrations
By Blackstone-Ford, Jann
Author Jupe, Sharyl
2007-10 - Chicago Review Press
9781556527197 Check Our Catalog

Through realistic and trusted advice, this innovative new guide brings the celebration back to the holidays for blended families. . …More

Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present
Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present
By Stuever, Hank
2009-11 - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)
9780547134659 Check Our Catalog

A heartfelt, hilarious look at the evolution of a half-trillion-dollar American holiday. Stuever's portraits of the happy, mega-churchy, shop-until-you-drop community in "Tinsel" are revealing and riotously funny, showing how our ancient rituals of celebration have survived--and succumbed to--the test of time. …More

TB

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Credo Reference is December's Featured Online Resource

Interested in Reference E-books that are available to you 24/7? You must look at our featured online resource for December-- Credo Reference.

Not only does it search its 550+ reference titles covering a wide range of topics, Credo also searches
images, videos, Google Books, e-journals, and our library catalog and subscription resources,

The results are displayed in a well-organized topic page. Don't be the last to check it out!

SH

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Books into Movies for December


Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Dec 9) is adapted from John le Carre's 1974 spy thriller. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, this remake stars Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Toby Jones and Mark Strong.

Carnage (Dec 16) is based on Yasmina Reza's award-winning 2006 play God of Carnage, a scathing drama. Directed by Roman Polanski, the film stars Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz.
Sherlock Holmes : a Game of Shadows (Dec 16) is inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's sleuth and his adventures. Guy Ritchie directs and stars for this sequel include Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams and Jude Law.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Dec 21) is adapted from the late Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy. Directed by David Fincher, stars include Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgard, Robin Wright and Rooney Mara.


-DB

Friday, December 2, 2011

New Books for December























Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

The new Kay Scarpetta novel from the world's #1 bestselling crime writer.

D.C. Dead by Stuart Woods

After a shocking loss, Stone Barrington is at loose ends, unsure if he wants to stay in New York and continue his work as a partner at Woodman & Weld. It comes as a welcome relief when he's summoned to Washington, D.C., by President Will Lee.

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman

Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles' most wealthy-and vicious-teens.


maf