Wednesday January 2, 2013: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm -- Downtown Library: Training Center

Come learn how to:
- Log in and search for ebooks and audiobooks using the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services,
- Use Adobe Digital Editions and the Overdrive Media Console,
- Get library books for your Kindle, Nook, or iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch,
- Listen to AADL Podcasts and download music, and
- Watch AADL Video on Demand.

Please bring your library card, laptop, smartphone, tablet, or other device. Registration is not required. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Go to aadl.org/classes for the complete schedule.

See you in class!

A runaway bestseller in its native Germany since its publication in 2011, Alex Capus's Leon & Louise has just been longlisted for the German Book Prize. This story of enduring love that survives the tribulations of two world wars is inspired by the author's French paternal grandfather, a police chemist at the Quai des Orfèvres.

Leon Le Gall and Louise Janvier met as teenagers in the summer of 1918 in the village of Saint-Luc-sur-Marne. Their tentative romance was cut short when both were severely wounded by German artillery fire. When they met up in Paris a decade later, circumstances and their strong conviction about family and responsibility kept them apart. The Occupation of Paris during WWII sent Louise into the wilds of Africa and Leon under the watchful eye of the SS. Their love, however remain constant.

"On its surface, this is a story about enduring love. But it is also about the way that power can be abused, particularly in times of war, and the daily sacrifices people make to preserve what they hold most dear."

Capus was born to a French father and a Swiss mother. He spent his formative years in his grandfather's house in Normandy and may account for the lovely depiction of the locale (map) as the haven for Parisian holidaymakers at the turn of the 20th century. As a student of history and a former journalist, Capus was able to recreate, in great details and stoic realism the Nazi occupation of Paris and the hardships on its citizens.

A captivating read for a cold dreary day. Will appeal to fans of Tatiana de Rosnay. Readers might also like The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman, and Anita Shreve's Resistance.

Silly hats and loud noisemakers are part of the ritual of bringing in the new year.
Come to the Pittsfield Branch on Monday, December 31, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.
to make your own party supplies. This is for preschoolers through 5th graders
and their grownups. All supplies will be provided.

For more ideas, go to this website
that has many good ideas for kids' crafts.

One cannot possibly read one's family too many wonderful picture books over the holidays. When a friend recommended Night Tree, by Eve Bunting, I immediately put a hold on it and today it came to me. Wow! The illustrations by Ted Rand -- traditional watercolors with the addition of chalk and grease pencil -- are magical. Eve Bunting's story is entirely original, evoking family, forest animals, and the decoration of a most extraordinary Christmas tree, all seen through the eyes of a child. Check it out!

Seed catalogs are appearing in my mailbox. So, in spite of the white stuff outside, it is time to begin dreaming about and planning for next year’s garden. Part of my long-term plan has been to retire the lawn – by that I mean the green stuff that grows and has to be cut. But what do you replace it with? When I found this book, I knew I had found my answer. Actually, 50 potential answers. For that is how many lawn alternatives are highlighted in this wonderful book, Beautiful No-Mow Yards.

Let’s face it, a lush, green lawn, cut to the perfect height is lovely. But it takes a lot of water, fertilizer, time and machinery to keep it that way. And, lovely though it may be, it is a bit of a waste when you consider the alternatives, such as: a rain garden, a meadow, an edible garden, a living carpet, a shade garden, ponds, patios, play areas and, my personal favorite, a stroll garden. Even if you cannot consider giving up the lawn, there are ideas here for a ‘smarter’, eco-friendly lawn. For more ideas along those lines take a look at this website.

Beautiful pictures and how-to details about making the transition, with what-to details about planting, make this book practical as well as inspiring. Dream now, for spring cannot be far, can it?

At the end of November, Locus Magazine polled its readers to determine the best science fiction and fantasy novels of the 20th century as well as the best of the 21st century so far. As of this week, the results are in. Unsurprisingly, old favorites like Tolkien, Asimov, and Ursula K. Le Guin took top slots, sharing the spotlight with George R.R. Martin's wildly popular Game of Thrones novels as well as up-and-coming writers like Paolo Bacigalupi.

Check out the top books in our catalog, and visit Locus for the full results. Science fiction and fantasy are more popular than ever right now, and you can also find the film or television adaptations of many of these books in our collections!

Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century:
1. Frank Herbert, Dune (1965)
2. Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game (1985)
3. Isaac Asimov, The Foundation Trilogy (1953)
4. Dan Simmons, Hyperion (1989)
5. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)

Best Fantasy of the 20th Century:
1. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (1955)
2. George R. R. Martin, A Game of Thrones (1996)
3. J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit (1937)
4. Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
5. Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber (1970)

Best Science Fiction of the 21st Century:
1. John Scalzi, Old Man's War (2005)
2. Neal Stephenson, Anathem (2008)
3. Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl (2009)
4. Robert Charles Wilson, Spin (2005)
5. Peter Watts, Blindsight (2006)

Best Fantasy of the 21st Century:
1. Neil Gaiman, American Gods (2001)
2. Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004)
3. Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind (2007)
4. China Mieville, The Scar (2002)
5. George R. R. Martin, A Feast For Crows (2005)

For lesser-known reads that made the lists (but don't have holds queues yet!), check out Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates, or Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic.

Maybe you've started hearing about them already. Along with holiday spirit, New Year's Resolutions are in the air.

I don't know about you, but my resolutions tend to be in the same themes year after year. According to USA Today, Americans' most common New Year's Resolutions in 2012 were focused on fitness, finance, and quality of life. Thankfully, we've got plenty of resources here at the library to make it easier to keep those resolutions this year.

Be Healthy

We have a wide range of books, videos, and magazines focused on health and fitness, including Whole Living, Fitness, and The Mayo Clinic Plan: 10 essential steps to a better body and healthier life.

Be Happy

The question of how to be happy in one's life has been pondered as long as we've been pondering. Younger readers, might enjoy Have You Filled a Bucket Today: a guide to daily happiness for kids, while grown-ups might find Stumbling on Happiness or Happiness 101 (DVD) to be enlightening.

Save Money

Precocious financially-minded kids might like The Secret Life of Money: a kid's guide to cash, while How to Be Richer, Smarter, and Better Looking than Your Parents is aimed at 20-somethings. The WSJ Guide to the New Rules of Personal Finance is a comprehensive guide to saving and investing money in the current economy. The Cheapskate Next Door: the surprising secrets of Americans living happily below their means tells stories of how some Americans are living debt-free by spending much less than most.

Form Good Habits (or Break Bad Ones!)

For those trying to make a change in their lives and stick with it, these books might be useful. Whether the change is in one's personal, professional, or financial life, these books are full of insights on how to successfully implement change: Switch: how to change things when change is hard, Change Anything: the new science of personal success, and This Year I Will...: how to finally change a habit, keep a resolution, or make a dream come true.

Get Organized

If you've resolved to lighten up your life and clear out unnecessary items from your home, you may find The Joy of Less: a minimalist living guide and Lighten Up: love what you have, have what you need, and be happy with less to be helpful. If you simply want to organize what you have to make your home a more welcoming, usable space, House Works: how to live clean, green, and organized at home or Soulspace: transform your home, transform your life might be just what you need.

Well, that covered my New Year's Resolutions. What's your resolution this year? Are there any other resources you recommend for making or keeping resolutions?

Author of the incredibly popular Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3rd, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He died in Bournemouth, England on September 2nd, 1973.

While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. Tolkien's works painted detailed, colorful images for his readers and his dedication to detailed imagery and his extensive imagination led him to create an entirely new world, now famously known as Middle-Earth. He also constructed fictional histories, detailed legends and intricate languages for his world.Tolkien, who has won countless awards throughout and after his lifetime, was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972. In 2008, The Times newspaper ranked him sixth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and Forbes magazine ranked him the 5th top-earning dead celebrity in 2009.

Tolkien Week, an annual event that celebrates the works and legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien, will take place from September 22nd to September 28th in 2013. The Lord of the Rings series was later adapted into three popular films: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of The King. More recently, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was released as the first of a new three-part film trilogy. Follow the links, and you'll find many of Tolkien's books and films in AADL's collection!

Related Posts:
Tolkien and Dickens Join Forces for New Books
The Hobbit Is Back Again
Locus Magazine Announces Winners of Poll for Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

The New York Times review by Francine Prose called Deborah Levy's 2012 Man Booker Prize finalist Swimming Home a "spare, disturbing and frequently funny novel... that suggest an improbable hybrid of Virginia Woolf, Edward St. Aubyn, Absolutely Fabulous (a BBC sitcom), and Patricia Highsmith? ... (one that) should be read with care".

Two British couples are to share a vacation home in the South of France - idyllic, right? When Joe Jacobs arrives with his family at the villa, he sees a beautiful girl emerging from the swimming pool, naked. She is Kitty Finch and she walks right into the heart of their holiday.

"Levy winds her characters up and watches them go, and they do as most humans do, which is to mess up in the face of desire. Her novel is utterly beautiful and lyrical throughout, even at the most tragic turns"

South African–born Londoner Deborah Levy (author website) writes fiction, plays, and poetry. Her work has been staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company and broadcast on the BBC.

In the meantime, if you are way down on the waiting list, don't despair. Try Lawrence Osborne's The Forgiven * * (2012) about other not-so-innocents abroad, sets in the Moroccan desert. Here is another Fabulous Fiction Firsts that has been selected by The Economist and Library Journal as one of the 10 Best Books of 2012.

You might also like Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins "Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising... a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams."

* * = starred reviews

My friend Rosalie Koenig is joining me for a cozy, silly storytime with music and riddles and family fun on Thursday, December 27 at 2 pm at the Downtown Library. Rosalie was the elementary vocal music teacher at Mitchell School for years and she'll join us with bells on her toes and guitar in hand! Bring your out of town guests and settle in for some good old fashioned singing and storytelling!