Danbury Library Blog

Gunter Grass, Nobel Prize winner and probably the greatest living German writer, has admitted in an interview that he was a member of the Waffen (military arm of the) SS in 1944-1945. This revelation has created a firestorm of controversy. After 60 years of concealment Grass has admitted his membership in this organization which was described as criminal by the Nuremberg Tribunal. He is just publishing his autobiography entitled "Peeling the Onion" and several critics have speculated that he made this confession to stoke the sales of the book.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A year later New Orleans and other areas hit by Katrina are still struggling to resume some semblance of normalcy. A couple of the several titles documenting the events and repercussions are: Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security and Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City.

Another hurricane title: The Great Hurricane--1938 is a great read and relevant since it hit close to home.

Posted by Mary at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Save a little, save a lot? This is Connecticut (almost) tax-free shopping week for you clothing and shoe wearers. No sales tax on purchases under $300. Helps a little, right? To save a lot, try these new books for folks with various $$$ situations:

• The Wall Street Journal: Complete Personal Finance Guidebook


• Boomer or Bust: Your Financial Guide to Retirement, Health Care, Medicare, and Long-Term Care


• Surviving Divorce


• Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide

Posted by Claudia at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Toland, world-renowned historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, lived in Danbury from 1967 until his death in 2004. He was a frequent visitor to the Danbury Public Library and donated signed copies of his work to the library. In his autobiography "Captured by History" he relates that during his vacations from college in the 1930s he rode the rails with hoboes and learned a great deal from them which he used in his early writings.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fabulous, superbly written! Water for Elephants is so funny and entertaining. The unbelievable characters, marvelous narrative and authentic plots keep you going until the very end of the story. The whole story is about a 93-year-old man traveling with the circus during the Depression era in the 1930s who overcomes many incredible odds. Sara Gruen, the national bestseller author has the talent to bring the story alive. I enjoyed reading it.

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Posted by Yan at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RITA Awards were presented at the Romance Writers Association annual conference in Atlanta. The winners included:

• Best Long Contemporary Romance: Worth Every Risk by Dianna Love Snell
  
• Best Romantic Suspense: Survivor in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
  
• Best Paranormal Romance: Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair
  
• Best Inspirational Romance: Heavens to Betsy by Beth Pattillo
  
• Best Long Historical Romance: The Devil To Pay by Liz Carlyle
  
• Best Regency Romance: A Reputable Rake by Diane Gaston
  
• Best Contemporary Single Title: Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs
  
• Best First Book: Show Her the Money by Stephanie Feagan
  
• RWA Lifetime Achievement Award: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, author of Match Me If You Can and Ain't She Sweet.

Posted by Claudia at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Take note of a new title: And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the World in Ten Cocktails. This title is part of a genre which can be described as microhistories (Mark Kurlansky has written several titles like this on cod, salt, oysters and other authors writing on vanilla and coal). These authors present history in a more engaging way and we learn a great deal about rum, cod etc. without the anxieties we had when learning history at school.

Posted by John O'Donnell at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Tenth Circle JODI PICOULT HAS WRITTEN A REAL WINNER!
SUPERB, ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC, KEEPS YOU GUESSING WITH REAL TRUE-TO-LIFE EMOTIONS & CHARACTERS! A MUST READ AT ANYTIME OF THE YEAR!
Summer Reading Book Review

Posted by Mary at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David F. Swensen's 2005 book Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment is a potentially life-changing book. Swensen oversees Yale University's $14 billion endowment and has formidable investment expertise which he focuses in this book to show just how tough--almost impossible--for individual investors to "beat" the market. This is a book that young earners--mid-to late 20s--and middle-aged earners alike should read, study and apply so that they don't get fleeced by misconceptions about investment or by the financial--and especially the mutual fund--industry which is largely designed to gain its own profits at the expense of small investors. - R. F.

Posted by Claudia at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As part of the Western Connecticut Summer Literary Festival, acclaimed author Thomas Kelly will appear at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 4 in the Marian Anderson Recital Hall in the Danbury Music Centre at 256 Main St. Kelly is the author of Empire Rising. This novel deals with the corruption surrounding the construction of the Empire State Building. (event is free and includes a reception & book signing afterwards).

Posted by John O'Donnell at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Even if you’ve seen An Inconvenient Truth at the Bethel Cinema, you’ll want to take a look at Al's recently published tie-in book (we’ve got 5 copies). “This riveting new book—written in an accessible, entertaining style—will open the eyes of even the most skeptical.” [Booksense] Chockful of stunning photographs (lots of foldouts!) and understandable charts, you’ll get a grip on Al's message and enjoy the view at the same time. Grist has a cool review of the book.

Posted by Claudia at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)